The Big News: Pete Dunne successfully defended his UK title, beating Johnny Gargano in the main event.
The Medium News: Ruby Riot scored one for SmackDown when she pinned Raw’s Sonya Deville.
The Little Beaver-sized News: This was another post-TakeOver edition of NXT. If you watched TakeOver: War Games, you can skip 30 minutes of this show. If you didn’t see TakeOver, go watch it and then skip 30 minutes of this show.
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Ruby Riot defeated Sonya Deville
We kicked things off with yet another Raw vs. SmackDown match as Deville went one-on-one with Riot. Now, of course, this match was taped two days before Deville debuted and three days before Riot debuted, but let me have my fun. If I once reviewed Cesaro defending the US title on NXT three weeks after he lost it on Raw, then I can pretend this is an interbrand match between the two new arrivals.
Ironically, despite brand loyalty, Deville was wearing blue while Riot was wearing red.
Deville clipped Riot’s knee and spent the heat portion of the match working it over. Riot made her comeback and almost had to tap to both a triangle and a kneebar, but she held on to pick up the win with a roundhouse kick.
I assume that this now ties the Raw vs SmackDown tally at 4-4.
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In case you’ve never watched the NXT immediately following TakeOver, it’s chalk full of recap packages and exclusive post-match promos. This is where I will usually inform people to go watch TakeOver and skip about 30 minutes of NXT TV.
They spent all night promoting “exclusive footage” from War Games. The exclusive footage was soundbites from fans yelling random stuff during the match.
Here’s what you need to know or can’t already guess about the miscellaneous post-match interviews: nothing.
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For some reason, The Street Profits were partying while standing on a car, which offended Tino Sabbatelli and Riddick Moss. This confrontation happened in a wind tunnel apparently because, due to the wind and the fans screaming, I had no idea what was said. This could not be re-taped for some reason.
Anyway, they will face each other next week. Also, Kairi Sane will wrestle Billie Kay.
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WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne defeated Johnny Gargano to retain his title
Dunne challenged anyone to a match for the UK title and Gargano is anyone, so here we go! I say this once every three months when they do a Dunne match, but this man is a star.
Gargano was holding his own early as they fought outside the ring until he played to the crowd instead of going for a tornado DDT. When he finally did, Dunne pushed him off and then dropped him with an Ex-Plex on the ring apron, which is the hardest part of the ring.
Dunne spent the next few minutes working on the hand and fingers in a way where it doesn’t end up looking cartoonish. Gargano made his comeback and spent the next few minutes throwing offense with his right hand while trying to massage his injured left hand. Gargano used both his slingshot spear and a combination suicide dive/tornado DDT.
Gargano locked on the Gargano Escape, but Dunne spat out his mouthpiece and bit Gargano’s injured fingers to escape. Dunne punched Gargano in the face, then Gargano fell into the ropes and sprung back with a DDT. Suddenly Gargano realized Dunne’s mouthpiece was sitting in the ring, threw it aside, and superkicked him for a near fall.
The finish saw Dunne counter a slingshot spear with a punch to the face and pick up the win with the Bitter End.
This was a super 10-minute match and made you wish they had 20 minutes on the main card, but they did a heck of a job with what they had.
That does it from Houston! We are back to normal next week. But until then, remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
New Japan Pro Wrestling’s World Tag League is underway, and the story of the tournament so far is how the newcomers have fared.
Sami Callihan, paired with Juice Robinson, Jeff Cobb, partnered with Michael Elgin, and Chuck Taylor, teaming with Beretta, have all tasted victory in their opening matches.
In Callihan’s case, it was difficult for me to believe that he was the same performer that I saw in WWE in 2015. Particularly when in the ring with EVIL, Callihan displayed a confidence as a performer that I thought he was lacking in his NXT tenure. Robinson played well off his over-the-top intensity, and the duo held up their end of the main event spot on night one of the tournament.
Taylor might have a tougher road, as his reactions in the early going of his opening match were tepid at best. But as illustrated by the great response to some of his flying work late in the match, his stuff will play here, and he will eventually get over.
Cobb was born to wrestle in NJPW. His powerhouse frame and intensity are pluses, and to top it off, he got to work with Tomohiro Ishii, both in a six-man on night one, and in a tournament match on night three. Any time Ishii sold for Cobb it gave him instant credibility, and coupled with his ability, it is easy to predict singles stardom for Cobb here in the future.
They did lots of crowd brawling early. I am of the opinion that the next time a crowd brawl looks good in modern wrestling will be the first time. Suzuki and Iizuka used chairs as they fought all over the building, but no disqualifications were called.
This was fine, maybe even good when Goto and Suzuki were in together, but ranged from middling to poor otherwise. The finish saw YOSHI-HASHI break up a guillotine attempt by Suzuki on Goto, who recovered and nailed Suzuki with his finisher for the pin.
Juice Robinson & Sami Callihan defeated SANADA & EVIL (A Block)
Robinson and SANADA did some nice mat work early. Callihan and EVIL did some power stuff, and Callihan hit a sick dive through the middle and bottom ropes to the outside.
SANADA and EVIL worked over Robinson before it broke down into a four-way. Callihan kissed Robinson at one point to try to fire him up. He saved Robinson as EVIL went to finish him, and Robinson recovered and hit the Pulp Friction for the pin.
Night two results —
Best Friends (Beretta & Chuck Taylor) defeated Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) (B Block)
A couple of nice spots early highlighted Taylor’s agility. This was all about establishing Taylor and Beretta’s friendship and teamwork. After some flying and crowd brawling early on, this settled down into your basic tag match, with the Guerillas working over Beretta.
The match wasn’t getting over to a great degree until Taylor hit a beautiful tope. Beretta eventually hit a Dudebuster for the win.
Michael Elgin & Jeff Cobb defeated Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano (B Block)
Cobb and Ishii started off. They pounded away at each other, no-sold each other, and the crowd ate it up. When Ishii eventually left his feet and bumped for a Cobb shoulder block, the place loved it. Elgin and Yano did some comedy. Ishii and Yano double-teamed Cobb, then Elgin got a tag and ran wild.
Elgin and Ishii did some of their trademark power stuff before it broke down. Cobb saved Elgin from a near fall with rolling German suplexes on Ishii. Cobb and Elgin got a great near fall with a double team move, and Elgin hit Ishii with a buckle bomb and a sit-out powerbomb for the pin. This was good stuff.
They kept it simple and tried to milk the crowd early on. The Bullet Club got the heat on Nakanishi with a low blow while the referee was distracted. Page and Takahashi then worked over Nakanishi forever with chops, kicks, and eye gouging.
Nagata got a tag and looked pretty good in working with Page, but Takahashi ended up hitting Nakanishi with the Pimp Juice DDT for the pin.
Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima (A Block)
A battle of the Bullet Club and the Bread Club. Tenzan and Kojima worked over Owens in the early going. He recovered and all four guys brawled outside and into the crowd. Back inside, Owens worked on Kojima with punches and elbows.
Fale tagged in for the occasional power spot, but this was largely Owens doing the bulk of the work and keeping it very simple. Fale hit the Bad Luck Fall on Kojima for the pin.
Night four results —
This show took place in Yamanashi on Tuesday and was recently uploaded to NJPW World. Here are quick results from the two tournament matches:
Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer) defeated David Finlay & Katsuya Kitamura (B Block)
Smith Jr. pinned Kitamura after a double-team powerbomb.
Date: November 21, 2017 Location: Toyota Center in Houston, TX
The Big Takeaway —
Ruby Riot, Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan debuted as a stable. They laid out Naomi and Becky Lynch backstage before attacking Charlotte Flair and Natalya during their title rematch. This was very obviously a copy of what happened on Raw, so much so that it almost has to be a storyline. Or maybe it isn’t. The positive is they did look strong. Also, when asked about what happened, Daniel Bryan sort of brushed it off and said, “no comment.”
Speaking of Bryan, there was a show-long storyline involving him, Shane McMahon, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Shane was about to fire Zayn and Owens, but Bryan put them in lumberjack match instead. Shane thought this would lead to their firing after the match, but it didn’t. Bryan instead put Owens in a match against Randy Orton next week, so this story will continue.
They are also building to AJ Styles vs. Jinder Mahal for the WWE title at Clash of Champions.
Show Recap —
The show opened with a recap of SmackDown losing the 5-on-5 men’s match against Raw at Survivor Series. Byron Saxton said SmackDown was well on their way to winning the match before Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn interfered, which doesn’t seem true.
Shane McMahon came out to kick things off and got a good reaction as usual. Shane said they came so close at Survivor Series and SmackDown proved that they, even in defeat, will no longer be considered anything but the show in WWE. He almost choked up when saying this, and added that he was proud of the entire roster.
Shane said they all bleed blue and would do anything for the fans. That is, of course, except for Owens and Zayn, who he called out. They came out and Zayn was even more full of energy than usual, to the point where Owens had to motion to him to settle down.
Zayn wondered what excuse Shane would come up with or if he would finally admit that he was wrong. Owens said it was a mistake to leave them off the team because they can beat anyone, including the Shield, the entire Raw team, and even Brock Lesnar. Owens wanted an apology.
Shane told Owens to shut up. He said they don’t have respect for anyone on the roster, for Shane, or for the fans. Zayn agreed with him on every point. Shane had two words for them, but Owens interrupted. He said Shane couldn’t fire them because they were too valuable, and every person in the back and in the industry respected them.
Zayn called them future Hall of Famers and Owens called them the top two superstars in WWE. Shane told them the roster didn’t respect them and called them megalomaniacs. Shane was actually about to fire them, but Daniel Bryan interrupted.
Owens and Zayn called Bryan a voice of reason and Zayn sucked up to him, so Bryan told him to shut up. Bryan said he had to send Randy Orton home because he threatened both men. He said the New Day were furious too and put them in a match against them. Zayn didn’t like that idea, so Bryan told him to shut up again. Bryan announced that their match was a lumberjack match. Bryan’s music played and he led a Yes chant. Shane seemed displeased.
Charlotte vs. Natalya for the women’s title was announced for tonight. AJ Styles will address Jinder Mahal’s challenge as well.
Shelton Benjamin (w/Chad Gable) defeated Jey Uso (w/Jimmy Uso) (7:08)
Saxton said Benjamin and Charlie Haas mentored the Usos when they first arrived in WWE years ago. Jey was about to hit a dive but Gable jumped on the apron to block it. Jimmy Uso yanked him down but Gable then sent him into the barricade. The distraction allowed Benjamin to use a schoolboy for a two count.
Jey followed with a superkick which seemed like it would be the finish, but Benjamin kicked out. Jey superkicked Gable off the apron and the delay allowed Benjamin to dodge a diving splash and hit Paydirt (reverse STO) for the win. This was Benjamin’s first singles match in WWE since 2010 when he lost to… Kane.
Owens and Zayn approached Baron Corbin backstage and wondered if he was on their side. He said he didn’t like them and told them to find someone more weak-minded. They kept walking and approached Bobby Roode (wearing his robe). They asked if he would be on their side and he called them crazy. He was in the match they interfered in and was looking forward to being a lumberjack tonight. He told them he owed them both a receipt.
Naomi spoke with the makeup lady backstage and said she was bummed they lost on Sunday, but was happy to see Charlotte beat Alexa Bliss, and figured she would beat Natalya tonight.
Ruby Riot showed up and introduced her to Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan. Naomi stood up to defend herself but they attacked her and laid her out. Becky Lynch tried to make the save, but they laid her out too. Lynch sold this like she was badly hurt. It’s good to see new faces, but did they really have to do the same angle on both shows?
There was a sponsored segment where they showed clips from Ric Flair’s retirement segment in March 2008.
Bludgeon Brothers defeated The Hype Bros (1:25)
When the match started, Luke Harper took out Zack Ryder outside the ring by launching him into the steel steps, which the referee allowed for some reason. He also allowed Harper and Rowan to hit a few double-team moves on Mojo Rawley, including a double chokeslam for the win. It wasn’t that loud, but people were cheering for the Bludgeon Brothers by the end.
Natalya congratulated Charlotte for beating her last week, which she called an almost impossible task. She mocked the “hot mess” Ric Flair for blubbering like a baby. She said her cat could beat Alexa Bliss and would give Ric something to cry about tonight.
There was a segment a little earlier where Shane told Bryan he liked his idea for Owens and Zayn, because the New Day and the rest of the roster could get their hands on them before Bryan fires them. Shane decided he would rather go back to his hotel room and watch, so he grabbed his bag and left. Bryan said nothing.
AJ Styles promo
Styles received a great reaction. They aired Paul Heyman’s interview putting over Styles and the crowd cheered. They continued cheering Styles for a while before he spoke. Styles wished he could be here celebrating after slaying the beast, but it didn’t go down that way. He appreciated the kind words, but you don’t get a prize for coming in second place.
Styles did say that Brock Lesnar was the one who limped to the back and was willing to have a rematch. He reminded Lesnar that in Rocky II, Rocky wins (spoiler alert). Styles moved on to Jinder Mahal.
Styles heard Mahal wants to take his title, so he took off his vest and called out Mahal for a match right now. Mahal’s big face showed up on the screen (with the flag of India behind him). Mahal said he was too busy watching Styles’ match against Lesnar on repeat.
Mahal claimed Styles took advantage of him in the middle of a European tour, and if he fought Lesnar, he would be standing there as the beastmaster. Styles asked him if he knew how stupid that sounded. He said Mahal should be well-rested because he did nothing at Survivor Series.
Mahal said he brought prestige to the championship and wasn’t going to fight in a place like Texas. Mahal wanted his rematch at Clash of Champions. He laughed as the Singh brothers attacked Styles from behind. Styles fought them off and gave one of them a Styles Clash. Styles came off well here. Mahal, on the other hand, was terrible.
Zayn and Owens approached Rusev and Aiden English backstage. English was singing a new rendition of “Rusev Day.” Zayn said Thanksgiving was coming up, but as French Canadians, they didn’t believe in that crap and would rather celebrate Rusev Day.
Owens said Shane and Bryan didn’t know how to utilize their best talent and reminded Rusev that his qualifying match with Styles was cancelled, while John Cena was just allowed in the match. Zayn and Owens left as Rusev and English seemed to consider their words.
WWE Women’s Championship match: Charlotte Flair NC Natalya (6:48)
During the entrances, Tom Phillips read a promo for WrestleMania tickets, but the graphics on screen were for Clash of Champions. Moments later, they showed the Clash of Champions graphic again and Phillips and Saxton read the proper promo this time.
After a break, Charlotte hit punches in the corner, but Natalya grabbed her and nailed a sitout powerbomb for two. She followed with a Sharpshooter but Charlotte got a rope break. Charlotte fought back with a backbreaker and went for a moonsault, but Natalya got her knees up (barely).
Charlotte hit a spear and Natalya fell to the outside. Riot, Morgan and Logan ran down through the crowd and attacked Natalya. The referee called for the bell. (So this was a DQ or no contest.) People chanted “NXT.”
The three heels then jumped into the ring and attacked Charlotte. They each hit a move and stood tall. Again, this was way too much like the Raw angle, but the crowd was into it. The announcers are acknowledging the similarities to what happened on Raw.
Dasha Fuentes asked Daniel Bryan about what happened during the women’s title match. He responded, “Well, it’s an interesting situation. No comment.” Owens and Zayn interrupted. Zayn said firing them would be his biggest mistake. Bryan wished them luck.
Styles will face the Singh brothers in a handicap match next week. A Saw-themed Fashion Files is scheduled, too.
Lumberjack Match: Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn defeated Big E & Kofi Kingston (w/Xavier Woods) (11:49)
It seems like ring announcer Greg Hamilton is no longer pausing for the crowd to chant along with “one fall.” Shinsuke Nakamura is among the lumberjacks. Woods is (sort of) dressed as a lumberjack.
Kingston was sent to the outside a couple of times, but the lumberjacks didn’t touch him. Zayn went out after him and the lumberjacks immediately jumped him, which got a laugh from the crowd. Zayn tried to escape but they picked him up and tossed him back in the ring.
Zayn and Owens got the heat on Kingston after a break. Owens tried a senton but Kingston got his knees up and made the hot tag to Big E, who suplexed Zayn around the ring. Zayn slipped out of a Big Ending but Kingston tagged in and hit a diving crossbody. Owens broke up the cover, then he and Big E took each other out with clotheslines.
A brawl broke out between the lumberjacks after Corbin accidentally clubbed Roode. The lumberjacks fought up the ramp, which mostly left ringside clear. Woods knocked Mike Kanellis out of the ring, and Owens knocked Woods off the apron. Kingston was distracted so Zayn used a schoolboy for the win.
Rusev and English attacked Big E afterwards, then Kingston took them out with a dive off the top. Owens ran away though the crowd but when Zayn tried to do the same, Woods caught him and dragged him into the ring. Kingston hit him with a Trouble in Paradise. Big E and Woods finished him off with a Midnight Hour. The New Day’s music played and they danced.
They cut backstage to Owens who stormed through the back. He ran into Bryan and pleaded with him. Bryan wondered if he was even concerned about Zayn. Owens mentioned how long he and Bryan have known each other and begged him not to fire them, even getting on his knees. Bryan told him not to beg, he was never going to fire them. He put Owens in a match with Randy Orton next week instead. Owens tried to get out of this, but Bryan made it clear that was a bad idea, so Owens agreed and thanked him.
The Big Takeaway: Roman Reigns won the Intercontinental Championship pinning the Miz in a great main event. This show had lots of good matches, including the opener. HHH and Stephanie appeared in only the opening segment, who no less than three people wanted a piece of HHH. Braun Strowman’s program with Kane continued when he jumped Strowman during a match with Jason Jordan. Paige made her long-awaited return, now leading a stable that includes Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville that attacked almost the entire Raw women’s roster, including Alexa Bliss. Enzo Amore’s group with Drew Gulak, Ariya Daivari, Noam Dar and Tony Nese is now called “The ‘Zo Train.”
Show Recap:
Stephanie McMahon came out to start things happy over Raw’s victory over SmackDown last night. She said Shane learned in a fight to strike first, but she learned in a fight to win. Thus, Angle’s GM job was safe. She introduced the man who was responsible for Raw’s victory, HHH, who successfully walked past the entrance beam.
Before HHH could speak, Angle came out with fire in his eye and got right in HHH’s face. Angle said this wasn’t Angle the GM talking to HHH, this was Angle the Olympic Gold Medalist telling HHH that he was coming for HHH. Stephanie said Angle was talking to the COO. She said she appreciated the intensity that Angle brought last night, but she warned him not to jeopardize his job. Jordan walked out and started mouthing off to HHH. Angle told Jordan that Stephanie was right, he was the GM and Jordan was just a “competitor.” Jordan wanted a match with HHH. Stephanie said Angle didn’t have the authority to make that match. Jordan asked if HHH was afraid. HHH took off his coat and Stephanie mouthed off to Jordan about how he would get destroyed.
Then Strowman came down and got in HHH’s face. (3 guys are feuding with HHH) Stephanie quietly got out of the ring. After a long staredown with Strowman, HHH also backed out of the ring. HHH and Strowman’s eyes never left each other as HHH circled around the ramp. Stephanie ordered Jordan to face Strowman. That led to Strowman getting in Jordan’s face before Angle stepped in between them.
Samoa Joe defeated Finn Balor by referee’s stoppage (12:03)
Really good, physical match. They had a stiff start with Joe landing lots of right hands. Balor dropkicked Joe in the knee and did a flip tope. During the commercial break, Balor went for the Sling Blade, but Joe caught his arms and gave him an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. Balor connected with a baseball slide, then attempted a kick on the apron, but Joe caught his leg and threw him to the floor face-first. Joe followed with an elbow suicidia, then a running STO for a two count. After a running senton, Joe put on the Coquina Clutch, but Balor put all his weight forward and pushed Joe’s back to the canvas, then gave Joe a double stomp, followed by a woo dropkick. Balor went for the Coup de Grace, but Joe run over to crotch him against the ropes, then clamped on the Coquina Clutch. Balor never tapped and the referee stopped the match.
They showed a package of WrestleMania tickets going on sale in New Orleans, which included a soundbite from outgoing New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu.
Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows did a sales pitch for wweshop.com for Black Friday, which included a Wolfpack NWO t-shirt and Gallows during a solid Steve Austin impression.
Jordan told Angle backstage that he wasn’t 100% and was still suffering from the knee injury that Bray Wyatt gave him last week. The only reason why Jordan said he was 100% earlier was because HHH was in the ring. Angle thought about calling off the match, but Jordan said if Angle needed him to compete against Strowman, then he will compete. Jordan claimed he was the only person on the roster that could beat Strowman. Jordan said by the time he finishes with the monster among men, Strowman will be telling horror stories about him.
Dana Brooke did an inset promo saying she had been studying her Asuka collection and found holes in her game. She said Asuka stuck her nose where it didn’t belong last week and said she would end Asuka’s undefeated streak.
Asuka defeated Dana Brooke (2:33)
Asuka threw some Aja Kong-style huracan backhands and finished Brooke with a buzzsaw kick. Crowd hasn’t taken to Asuka yet on the main roster.
Next up was MizTV with the Miz, Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel. Miz congraulated Baron Corbin on beating him last night, calling it the biggest win of Corbin’s career. He introduced Reigns, who didn’t come out. Miz introduced him again, but no Reigns. Reigns came out with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, who surrounded the ring as the MizTourage looked on anxiously. Miz said his guest was Reigns, not the Shield. Ambrose said they proved to the world and the New Day that they are the most dominant three-man team in WWE history. Miz said the Shield was back together but he hasn’t heard a thank you. Reigns didn’t know what Miz was talking about, but Miz said the only reason the Shield reunited was because of him. Miz said it was in Houston when Rollins and Ambrose’s bromance reignited. Miz said the least he deserved was a thank you. Fans actually chanted “Thank you, Miz.”
Miz then asked for a check from the residuals from the Shield’s merchandise. Fans chanted “Miz is awesome.” Reigns said they’ve been all over the world and they’ve never heard that chant before. Reigns said, if anything, Miz should thank Houston. Fans chanted “yes.” Miz said he refused to thank Houston. The lights, for some reason, went out. Miz said the Shield was ungrateful. Reigns said they won last night and if anybody should be ungrateful, it’s the guy who lost last night. Miz said he was still the Intercontinental Champion, and the Shield didn’t hold a championship. Rollins said he had been thinking about that and it was only a matter of time before he and Ambrose get their hands on the Raw Tag Team Titles. Reigns said they hadn’t talked about this and he didn’t want to be the only one without a championship. Rollins said Reigns could fight Miz for the Intercontinental Championship tonight. Fans cheered.
Dallas stepped in and said if Reigns wanted to get to Miz, he had to go through him and Axel. Reigns decked Dallas, Miz ran for cover. Axel, wearing a neckbrace, was left in the ring alone surrounded by the Shield. Ambrose gave Axel the Rainmaker Knee, while Ambrose delivered Dirty Deeds. Axel got out, but Dallas got in, again surrounded by the Shield, who put the boots and fists to him. Reigns finished Dallas by giving him the Triple Bomb as Reigns stared a Miz, who cradled his belt with a helpless look on his face.
Miz will face Reigns for the Intercontinental Championship later tonight.
Dean Ambrose defeated Sheamus (11:51)
Sheamus grinded away on Ambrose’ right arm and delivered two falcon arrows. Ambrose dodged Sheamus in the corner and Sheamus took a bump to the post. Ambrose made his comeback with a series of clotheslines and knocked Sheamus off the top rope with a forearm. Ambrose attempted a tope, but Sheamus caught him with a forearm. Sheamus tried the Brogue Kick, but Ambrose knocked Sheamus to the floor with a clothesline and followed with a tope. Cesaro jumped Rollins from behind while Sheamus and Ambrose exchanged near falls with schoolboy cradles. Ambrose climbed the top rope, but Cesaro jumped up on the apron. Ambrose kicked Cesaro to the floor, but Sheamus hit a rolling senton off the top rope, but Ambrose kicked out. Sheamus called for the Brogue Kick, but Rollins ran across the ring and hit Cesaro with a tope. Then Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds on Sheamus for the pin.
Jordan talked with Matt Hardy about facing Strowman. Hardy told Jordan that when they call Strowman the “Monster Among Men,” it’s not just a nickname, it’s a fact.
Alexa Bliss came out upset about losing to Charlotte last night. She said she didn’t need to hear that she and Charlotte had the match of the night because the fans can keep their pats on the back. She said 2017 has been the year of Bliss. Mickie James came out and said she was sick of hearing Bliss complain and wanted to face her. Then Bayley walked out and said it was her turn to face Bliss for the Raw Women’s Championship. Alicia Fox walked out and did her usual crazy talk about how she deserved to face Bliss. Sasha Banks came out and said she wanted to take on Bliss. Finally Angle came out and ordered a Fatal Four-Way immediately with the winner getting a title shot against Bliss.
Bayley, Sasha Banks, Alicia Fox and Mickie James went to a no contest in a Fatal Four Way match (4:27)
Banks put Fox in the Bank Statement, but Bayley broke it up. After Banks and James clotheslined each other, Paige came out to a huge reaction. Paige asked “Did you miss me?” Fans chanted “yes.” Paige said she didn’t meant to interrupt the ladies’ business, but she had something to say to everyone, and that is “I’m baackkk.” Fans chanted “Welcome back.” Paige said she didn’t come alone. She took off her jacket and walked to the ring. Suddenly, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville came in the ring through the crowd. The match simply ended Rose jumped James, giving her the Angel’s Wings. Deville, with her MMA gimmick, gave Banks some punches and knocked her out. Paige gave Bayley the Rampage. Fox ran to the back for cover. Crowd didn’t know who Rose and Deville were, but they reacted big to Paige’s return.
Paige, Rose and Deville walked to the back where Renee Young tried to interview them. Bliss walked up and told the ladies they did their jobs well. Paige introduced Rose and Deville to Bliss, who told Rose it was a pleasure to meet her. Rose just glared at Bliss. The two had a staredown before Paige kicked Bliss in the midsection. Rose and Deville joined Paige in triple-teaming Bliss. They threw Bliss into a stack of crates and a garage door to leave her laying.
Braun Strowman defeated Jason Jordan by DQ (1:44)
Jordan rolled out of the ring after Stroman tried the running powerslam. Kane ran in through the crowd to jump Strowman from behind. Kane delivered several chair shots to the back of Strowman, then put the top of the chair against Strowman’s throat and jammed the chair against the ring steps. Strowman grasped his throat and acted like he could barely breathe. He refused the referees’ help as he walked up the ramp by himself while struggling for air.
Enzo Amore came out with fellow cruiserweight heels Noam Dar, Drew Gulak, Ariya Daivari and Tony Nese. Enzo, wearing a leopard skin boxing robe, pronounced himself still the cruiserweight champion and said he was still the face of 205 Live. Enzo said he faced an army of haters, but he had his own army backing his side. Enzo said since it was Thanksgiving, each member of his “‘Zo Train” had something to be thankful for. He said the women couldn’t keep their hands off Dar, that Nese was up to a 20-pack abs and Daivari was able to get new threads. When Enzo got to “Gabba Gulak,” Gulak started talking about his power point presentations reaching millions more people. That’s when Akira Tozawa, Cedric Alexander, Rich Swann and Mustafa Ali walked out. Enzo said it looked like Kalisto’s luggage didn’t make the flight and invited the four of them to join the ‘Zo Train. Alexander said they wanted a shot at the cruiserweight championship, but they wanted to earn it unlike a group of suck-ups like Enzo’s group. Enzo told Alexander it’s either get on board of the ‘Zo Train or get out of their way.
Swann said they should make him and that Enzo couldn’t because all Enzo was is a catchphrase. The eight men started brawling with each other while Enzo just stood outside the ring and watched. They went to a commercial during the brawl.
Mustafa Ali, Cedric Alexander, Akira Tozawa and Rich Swann defeated Tony Nese, Noam Dar, Drew Gulak and Ariya Daivari (4:17)
Ali pinned Dar after the Inverted 450. Nese actually had to move Dar in position to take the 450 while setting himself up to take Alexander’s Lumbar Check at the finish. No heat but great execution.
Young was the trainer’s room. Angle walked in and said that Strowman refused treatment from the doctors and left the building. Young asked if there would be any punishment for Kane. Angle said he would announce that at a later time. Angle walked in to check on Jordan. Miz walked in begging Angle to cancel his match with Reigns tonight. Angle refused. Jordan said that Angle was right, that Strowman was a monster among men.
Elias showed up in the ring and strummed his guitar. He said that was the sound of success, not that anyone here would know what that sounded like. He said he was in a good mood because Raw did great at the Survivor Series and he wrote a song about it. Fans chanted “Let’s Go Astros.” Elias told them the season was over and to shut up. Elias sang about beating Hardy, who came out. Hardy used his right hand while holding his let arm close to his body and attempted to give him the Twist of Fate, but Elias got out of the ring.
Roman Reigns defeated Intercontinental Champion the Miz to win the Intercontinental Championship (16:25)
This week, Reigns wasn’t in the town where he played college football but the fans didn’t boo him at all. Reigns teased the Superman Punch, but Miz got to the floor. Reigns jumped off the ring steps, but Miz kicked him in the chest and gave him a DDT on the floor, leading to a countout tease. Big cheers when Reigns got back in. Miz hit the Pimp Juice DDT for a two count. Miz stayed on offense for several minutes hitting running dropkicks to the corner and the Daniel Bryan yes kicks. Reigns dodged a kick and caught the Samoan Drop for a near fall. Reigns went for the Superman Punch, but Miz clipped his left leg, then hit a buzzsaw kick to the head for a good near fall. Miz hit a running clothesline in the corner, then climbed to the top rope, but jumped right into a Superman punch, but Miz kicked out in a great false finish. Reigns called for a spear, but Sheamus and Cesaro ran down to distract Reigns. Miz hit the Skull Crushing Finale, but Reigns kicked out. Rollins and Ambrose ran down. Rollins gave Cesaro a backdrop on the floor and Ambrose clotheslined Sheamus into the crowd. Reigns hit the spear on Miz to win the championship for the first time.
With the show built around Raw vs. SmackDown matches, this year’s Survivor Series pay-per-view takes place at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas tonight.
There will be two five-on-five elimination tag matches pitting Raw and SmackDown against each other. In the men’s match, Kurt Angle, Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe, Finn Balor & Triple H will take on Shane McMahon, Randy Orton, Bobby Roode, Shinsuke Nakamura & John Cena. On the women’s side, Alicia Fox, Nia Jax, Asuka, Sasha Banks & Bayley will face Becky Lynch, Carmella, Tamina, Naomi & Natalya.
The champions from each brand will also match up with their counterpart from the other show in non-title matches. Those are Brock Lesnar vs. AJ Styles, Alexa Bliss vs. Charlotte Flair, Cesaro & Sheamus vs. The Usos, and The Miz vs. Baron Corbin.
In another Raw vs. SmackDown bout, The Shield will square off with The New Day in a six-man tag. On the pre-show, Enzo Amore defending his Cruiserweight title against Kalisto, Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. Breezango, and Matt Hardy vs. Elias are set.
We’re looking for your thoughts on this show as well as NXT Takeover, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
Our live coverage begins with the first pre-show match before the main card kicks off at 7 p.m. Eastern time.
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MATT HARDY VS. ELIAS
Basic match, not mcuh of a crowd in the building at this poimt, so not much crowd reaction. Matt did a side effect on the apron while Elias worked on his left shoulder most of the way. Elias threw his shoulder into the post and hit drift away for the pin.
ENZO AMORE VS. KALISTO FOR CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE
Not much to this. The crowd was still quiet except for the interview by Enzo. Kalisto did a few standard cool moves but the finish saw Enzo pull Kalisto into the side of the turnbuckle and hit exposed metal, and then Enzo used the Jawdunzo for the pin.
KEVIN OWENS & SAMI ZAYN VS. TYLER BREEZE & FANDANGO
Owens and Zayn did a heel interview with Owens talking about winning the IC and Universal titles in Houston but those were his moments, not the fans’ moments. Breeze & Fandango came out and complained about Owens & Zayn having smelly facial hair. Not much to this match either. Fandango made the hot tag, but missed a legdrop off the top rope and Owens pinned him with the pop up power bomb.
The New Day came for an interview. He said about Tuesday that it took Raw three weeks to steal our idea and not do it as well as we did. They were pushing themselves as “your boys” trying to get over as the faces. They said they’d be together while by the time WrestleMania comes The Shield will be turning on each other.
NEW DAY VS. THE SHIELD
Good match. Crowd liked it. The crowd didn’t really choose between the sides except at times Reigns was booed, but at times he wasn’t, such as when he hit the spear on Kingston right before the finish. The finish was a triple team power bomb with Reigns power bombing Kingston off the middle rope for the pin. There was a Shield power bomb teaser earlier but Big E saved. The New Day teased a double-team midnight hour as E had Rollins & Ambrose both up.and Kingston & Woods came off but Reigns saved with a spear.
Stephanie gave a pep talk to the Raw women. She wanted Asuka to break every bone in Lynch’s body. Stephanie in her heels looked huge next to the wreslters who looked much smaller except for Nia Jax.
RAW VS. SMACKDOWN WOMEN’S MATCH
This match ranged at times was really good (Banks vs. Natalya, Asuka vs. Natalya) to really bad (Fox vs. Naomi). It came down to Asuka vs. Natalya & Tamina. Tamina missed a splash off the top and Asuka beat her with a flying armbar submission. Asuka used a double chicken wing into the Asuka lock for the submission on Natalya for the win. The eliminations were Bayley pinning Becky Lynch with a schoolboy. Tamina pinned Bayley with a superkick by Carmella and Tamina did a splash off the top on bayley. Jax was counted out after Tamina superkicked her on the floor and did a cross body off the ring steps. Naomi pinned Fox although she was supposed to win by submission but the ref counted to three early. Banks beat Noami with the bank statement. Asuka kicked Carmella in the face for the pin. Natalya eliminated Banks with the sharpshooter, leaving Asuka vs. Tamina & Natalya..
Stephanie and Daniel Bryan argued over who was going to win with men’s match with Raw up 2-0. Stephanie said that when Shane is incapacitated, then Bryan can run Smackdown all by himself. They showed Bryan thinking about it.
THE MIZ VS. BARON CORBIN
Corbin was pretty much the babyface at the end given both Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas got inolved. Corbin blew a kiss at Maryse. Match was fine, with Corbin laying out Dallas with the End of Days . Miz kicked his knee and hit the DDT for a near fall. But Corbin came back and hit the End of Days to win the match clean.
Renee Young pushed this as the first win for Smackdown. Corbin said to Miz my hand went up and your mouth went closed
Bayley helped a guy pick out a ring and he proposed to his girlfriend inside the WWE ring.
Charly Caruso interviewed Paul Heyman. He said AJ is phenomenal but he’s going to regret beating Jinder Mahal and winning the title because he’s stepping in he ring with Brock Lesnar.
SHEAMUS & CESARO VS. USOS
Very good match. The finish saw a double superkick on Cesaro, then on Sheamus, which they did call a superkick party, when Jimmy hit a tope on Cesaro while tagging Jey and Jey pinned Cesaro after a splash off the top rope. The Usos worked as the faces and mostly sold. The coolest spot was Jey giving Sheamus a Samoan drop while off the Doomsday device position.
They are pushing that it’s now tied 2-2 beween Raw and Smackdown.
Jason Jordan interview. He was booed of course. He feels terrible that he may never get the chance to compete with his dad. He said he’s 100 pecent healed and 100 percent behind his teammates, but he hopes HHH gets eliminated but that Raw wins.
CHARLOTTE FLAIR VS. ALEXA BLISS
Charlotte won with the figure eight after a big foot that didn’t hit just right. The match wasn’t smooth, The crowd was into it. Charlotte missed a moonsault and Bliss did twisted bliss but Charlotte got her knees up. They gave them a lot of time to build the match.
BROCK LESNAR VS. A.J. STYLES
This was different from everything on the show in the sense it felt like a fight rather than a performance. Lesnar threw him around and launched him into orbit with some of the throws. Styles did an awesome comeback including a phenomenal forearm over the top rope to the floor, another off the steps and another in the ring. He went for a second phenomenal forearm but Lesnar caught him in the F-5 for the pin. They aren’t letting anyone kick out of the F-5 till Mania. Lesnar was limping badly when it was over which was storyline from the calf crusher. The crowd went nuts when Styles did the calf crusher but Lesnar broke it by slamming his head over and over on the mat.
We actually have 70 minutes left right now and one match left,.
RAW VS. SMACKDOWN MEN’S MATCH
Raw won the match with HHH and Strowman as the final two. The match ended when Angle had the ankle lock on Shane, and held it for a long time. HHH then saved Shane by giving Angle a pedigree and put Shane on top. HHH then acted like he was siding with Shane, but then he turned on Shane and gave him a pedigree for the pin. Strowman grabbed HHH by the throat after the match and told him if he ever does that again, he’ll finish him. HHH tried pedigree on Strowman, but Strowman blocked it and laid him out with a powerlsam. Strowman gave HHH a second powerslam and left.. So the show ended with Strowman as the star. The match was a big disappointment. It started out real good but then got flat and the place was pretty much dead with confusion at the end. The eliminations were:
Strowman pinned Shinsuke Nakamura with a powerslam.
Strowman pinned Bobby Roode with a powerslam.
John Cena pinned Samoa Joe after the Attitude Adjustment.
Randy Orton pinned Finn Balor with the RKOI.
Strowman pinned Orton with a powerslam.
This left HHH & Strowman & Angle with Shane.
The only interference was Owens and Zayn coming out to attack Shane. Shane came back with chair shots to the back of both and Orton gave Owens an RKO.
Survivor Series weekend kicks off in Houston, Texas tonight as the Toyota Center hosts NXT TakeOver: War Games.
Though there have been a few changes from the original concept, this will mark the first time WWE has used War Games since acquiring WCW in 2001. The Undisputed Era, SAnitY, and The Authors of Pain & Roderick Strong will take part in NXT’s first version of the match.
A new NXT Women’s Champion will also be crowned, with Kairi Sane, Peyton Royce, Ember Moon, and Nikki Cross vying for the title that Asuka vacated in August. In the show’s other title match, Drew McIntyre will defend his NXT Championship against Andrade “Cien” Almas.
The issues between Aleister Black and Velveteen Dream will culminate as they face off in a match tonight. Plus, Kassius Ohno vs. Lars Sullivan rounds out the undercard.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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-The first thing seen as the show began was a giant banner for Kenny Omega.
Kassius Ohno vs Lars Sullivan
Sullivan ducked the Rolling Elbow and hit The Freak Accident for the win.
Ohno used an elbow strike in the first 30 seconds, which didn’t phase Lars and set the story for the match. Everything that Ohno would try Lars would shake off and knock Ohno down. The fans were into this and Sullivan looked good, even hitting a Pop Up Power Slam. The most offense Ohno got in was after Sullivan missed a diving elbow. Ohno used a Cyclone Kick to finally knock Sullivan off his feet, but Lars raged up and begged for more punishment as they went to the finish.
The whole match was less than 5 minutes, but was exactly what it should have been.
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-Tyler Bate, Trent Seven. Mark Andrews and Wolfgang were shown at ringside.
-Undisputed Era were shown backstage and didn’t look too happy when William Regal told them something we couldn’t hear.
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Aleister Black vs Velveteen Dream
Black won with Black Mass, which the cameras mostly missed, in a very good match and Dream’s best NXT match by far.
Velveteen Dream went all Rick Rude for this match with airbrushed tights with Black’s face on them. The fans were into the Velveteen Dream, but they were just as happy when Black won.
Black snapped off one of the fastest deep armdrags you’ll ever see early as he showed his superior grappling. Dream couldn’t even connect with a strike early as every time he tried, Black moved out of the way. Finally Dream got tired of being stretched and got in a couple blows. A sequence saw Black end in a sitting position on the mat, so Dream did the Rick Rude hip swivel, which Black ignored until Dream sat down like Black, so Black did Dream’s grinding on the mat.
Dream finally got some sustained offense, using a superkick and a Rude Awakening. Black got tied in the ropes ala their tv angle a month ago and this had the same result as Black kicked Dream and got himself out. They kicked out of each other’s secondary finishers, being Dream’s Rolling Death Valley Driver and Black’s running knee.
After the match Aleister sat next to Dream on the mat and said “Enjoy infamy, Velveteen Dream”. So Dream got his ultimate goal of the match, which was for Black to say his name.
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-SAnitY was ranting and raving in the locker room. Killian Dain and Alexander Wolfe were messing around in the background as Eric Young appeared to be mid-speech.
-Asuka, Funaki and Finn Balor were show ringside. Behind them were hundreds of empty seats, so remember that if they claim a sell out.
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Kairi Sane vs Peyton Royce vs Ember Moon vs Nikki Cross for the vacant NXT Women’s Championship
Ember Moon became the 6th NXT Women’s Champion, pinning Nikki Cross after a double Eclipse on both Cross and Peyton. This was a relatively short match but chalk full of big moves that the crowd was super into and were really happy for Moon to finally win the title. The only messed up move was early when Royce went to roll up Cross and somehow got Moon tangled up, which looked like both of them covering Cross at the same time.
Ember hit a Suicide Dive to Sane and Royce and then a hard power bomb to Cross on the floor. Sane broke up a pinfall with a running Blockbuster. Royce used a Reverse Octopus Hold on Sane until Ember superkicked her in the ribs. We had a Stacked Up Superplex with Royce German Suplexing Moon, who superplexed Sane. Cross hit her Twisting Fisherman Suplex for a 2 count and then used a Draping Roll The Dice on Moon. Royce used her Fisherman Suplex on Cross, but Sane had to break it up. Sane hit the Insane Elbow on Cross and Royce, but Moon broke that up and that led to the finish.
Asuka got in the ring to present Ember with her championship.
The Queen is dead! Long live the new Queen!
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We had a commercial for NXT TakeOver: Philadelphia, which is the day before Royal Rumble. Tickets go on sale December 1.
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-Roderick Strong, Paul Ellering and The Authors of Pain were hanging out backstage.
-Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe were shown at ringside.
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Drew McIntyre vs Andrade Cien Almas for the NXT Championship
Almas shockingly won the title with a Hammerlock DDT off the top rope after McIntyre got caught up in the ropes when he missed his second Claymore Kick. You knew Drew was in for a bad night when he couldn’t get his kilt off before the match.
Vega got all up in McIntyre’s naval before the match, telling off the champion, which led to Almas getting the quick advantage at the bell. Almas lounged in the ropes, which came back to bite him in the ass as Drew kicked him out of the ring. Vega tried to interfere and hit a hurricarana behind the referee’s back, but McIntyre caught her and set her down.
In almost the reverse of the last match, in this one they reversed and side-stepped a lot of big moves early, but they saved the big stuff for last. Drew went for a running power bomb to the post outside, but Andrade turned it into a hurricarana. Almas then hit a Moonsault over the ring post to McIntyre, who was on the floor. Almas hit his running double knees in the corner two different times for a two different 2 counts, but every time he went for his Hammerlock DDT Drew got out of it, including once hitting a sit out power bomb.
Almas kicked out of a Future Shock DDT and finally hit his Hammerlock DDT when Vega’s interference finally worked as she hit a Hurricarana, but Drew kicked out of it. McIntyre finally hit the Claymore Kick but Vega put Almas’ foot on the ropes.
Almas becomes the 14th NXT Champion overall and 12th different man to hold the gold. The King is dead! Long live the new King!
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Undisputed Era vs SAnitY vs Roderick Strong & Authors of Pain in War Games
Rules:
-One member from each team starts with the other team members locked in shark cages
-After 5 minutes the remaining two members of one team gets to enter
-Every 3 minutes after the other two members of the other teams enter.
-You can only win via pinfall of submission
-If anyone leaves the cage they forfeit the match for their team
First Period: Eric Young, Adam Cole and Roderick Strong started the match. They put a metal platform between the two rings so no one could fall between the rings. I’ll update this as much as I can throughout the match.
Young seemed willing to team with Strong early, but Strong punched him in the face and it was on. Cole was about to run and leave the match, but he got stopped. That actually led to him taking over on both Strong and Young, when he crotched them on the top rope. Cole tried to keep each man in separate rings, but even when they weren’t he was on the offensive. Strong finally built some momentum at the end of the period.
Second Period: They did the Elimination Chamber light show instead of a coin toss and, believe it or not, Undisputed Era was released. This was 3 full minutes of Cole, O’Reilly and Fish beating down both Young and Strong. Young got caught between the ropes and the cage and had to stand there as Undisputed Era took turns running into him. Strong was the victim of a Wheelbarrow Suplex before he got smashed into the cage repeatedly.
Third Period: Authors of Pain was next and Fish did his best to hold the door closed, but it didn’t work. O’Reilly tried and got a door smashed into his head. Akam and Rezar flung all 4 men all over the cage. Akam actually hiptossed Cole from one ring into the other and then he and Rezar backdropped Young into the other ring. AOP hiptossed Strong onto all 4 men, which finally got the crowd into the match.Young and O’Reilly were tied into Trees of Woe and the Authors gave Fish and Cole a Death Valley Driver into them.
The Match Beyond: SAnitY gets released to end the match and Alexander Wolfe had a hidden Nightstick that he used to beat on all three members of the AOP team. Killian Dain found some plunder under the ring as War Games went hardcore.
Dain was about to get in the ring, but the fans were chanting for tables, so Killian did as he was told and put two tables into the cage. O’Reilly did the Kurt Angle House Show Chair spot with the chair ricocheting off the ropes into his face. This became pure chaos as Dain decided it was his job to lock the cage. He ate the padlock key before going after Authors of Pain.
Dain did a corner dropkick onto one Author and fell with a back senton onto the other and then did a flying crossbody onto pretty much everyone else in the match. Fish kicked Dain in the legs, but he got laid out and Dain did a Michinoku Driver to Cole on top of Fish, which could not have felt good.
Dain and Rezar did stereo combo Samoan Drop/Fallaway Slams to multiple opponents and then Rezar decided to test Dain. Finally Akam laid out Dain with a running power slam, which took him out for a few minutes. Undisputed Era hit a 3-man Chasing The Dragon on Strong, but couldn’t make the cover. No one could get sustained offense at this point as every time they would hit a big move they’d turn around and get hit with their own. O’Reilly tied Wolfe up with a chain and locked on and armbar, but EY broke it up with a diving elbow drop. Fish broke up the ensuing pin with a Moonsault on the pile.
AOP did a Super Collider to Fish and Young, where Dain was caught in the middle of it, but Young came back with a Death Valley Driver to Akam on top of Rezar. Strong decided that 20+ minutes into the match was the time to go Backbreaker crazy, but actually finishing with an Angle Slam on Dain. Cole ended up sitting on the ringposts between the cages and it led to a double stacked up superplex with the other 8 people and Cole somehow left all alone. Cole was celebrating momentarily and then the AOP looked up and saw him sitting there. After setting up both tables their attempted double back superplex was broken up by Wolfe, who put Rezar through both tables with a German Suplex, which busted open the back of Wolfe’s head. Dain woke back up and hit the World’s Biggest Van Terminator as he went corner to corner with a dropkick to O’Reilly, who had a garbage can in his face.
Cole ended up on top of the cage, but he shimmied his way to the opposing corner. Cole seemed poised to dive until he saw Strong standing there and Roddy seemed to put the fear into Cole. Both men ended up on top of the cage and the fans chanted “Please don’t die”. Strong then hit a superplex off the top of the cage and both men landed on top of almost everyone else. AOP hit a version of The Last Chapter to Dain on the metal ramp between the rings. Everyone laid out each other until Cole and Strong were the only two left. Strong beat on Cole until Young recovered and Wheelbarrowed him into the cage. Finally Cole used a Kendo Stick to Young and pinned him after a running kick, assisted with a steel chair.
So long story short, no this wasn’t WCW/NWA War Games, but it was a masterful 30-minute brawl full of twists, turns and, oh yes, plenty of chaos. Undisputed Era is your winner and that does it from Houston.
Thank you for reading and good luck to Survivor Series tomorrow night to try to top this.
Previously: Johnny Impact and Alberto El Patron had a wild brawl that went all over the building. Both are banned from the arena for tonight’s show.
Tonight: Global Champion Eli Drake defends against Petey Williams. Plus, Gail Kim officially announces her retirement.
Show Recap —
Sonjay Dutt, Dezmond Xavier & Garza Jr. defeated Taiji Ishimori, Trevor Lee & Caleb Konley
Ishimori and Dutt traded pinfall attempts before Konley tagged himself in, then the heels took over and isolated Dutt in their corner. Garza got the tag and basically fought with one arm due to his shoulder injury. Ishimori appeared to have the match won, but Konley tagged himself in again. Xavier won it for his team after hitting the X19 and Final Flash on Konley.
Impact Grand Champion Ethan Carter III defeated Fallah Bahh to retain his title
Bahh controlled most of the action and won the first round. EC3 took over after Bahh missed a charge in the corner and easily won round two. Bahh scored a near fall after hitting a splash in the corner and a belly-to-belly suplex, but EC3 got the pin with his feet on the ropes with 28 seconds remaining.
LAX (w/ Konnan) defeated OVE
This started with all six guys brawling around ringside and in the ring. Sami Callahan used a low blow on Homicide to give OVE the advantage. The match broke down and all six guys started brawling again. OVE attempted their finisher on Santana, but Ortiz and Homicide made the save. LAX used the Street Sweeper for the win.
GWN Flashback Moment of the Week: Ken Shamrock defeated Malice (w/ Father James Mitchell) to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship
This match was from the very first NWA: TNA pay-per-view and Ricky Steamboat served as referee for it. The finish came when Malice attempted a chokeslam and Shamrock countered into a belly-to-belly to win the title.
– Dan Lambert came down to the ring to gloat about his team’s victory at Bound for Glory. Lambert buried the Canadian wrestling fans and brought up the Montreal Screwjob. He said Vince McMahon didn’t screw Bret Hart because he could hear Bret quitting from Florida.
He claimed that Impact reneged on their deal and won’t release Bobby Lashley. He had his attorney draft a release for Lashley and demanded an executive sign it.
This brought out Moose. He told Lambert it was a mistake not to bring American Top Team. Moose went after Lambert, but Lashley, King Mo, and ATT ran out and jumped Moose. James Storm ran out for the save and superkicked Lashley.
Storm broke a bottle over one of the ATT guy’s head. Storm gave a passionate speech defending pro wrestling. He discussed his career and time with Impact.
– As ATT left the building, KM approached the group and asked to join. Lashley said he has to prove himself first.
– Knockouts Champion Gail Kim came out to announce her retirement. Allie joined Kim in the ring for her announcement. She thanked all the women she’s worked with, including Trish Stratus, Lita, Molly Holly, Awesome Kong, and Taryn Terrell.
Kim relinquished the Knockouts title and said she looks forward to seeing the division continue to grow. She thanked Impact and the fans.
– In the back, Grado was at a table with a bunch of guys. Joseph Park arrived and admitted that he is Abyss. Park wanted to make it up to Grado and gave him a visa to stay in the United States. A Mountie approached and deported Grado because his visa is only good for the US.
– Jimmy Jacobs joined in on commentary for the main event.
Impact Global Champion Eli Drake (w/ Chris Adonis) defeated Petey Williams to retain his title
Williams controlled the early part of the match until Drake took over during the commercial break. Williams attempted the Canadian Destroyer later, but Drake rolled through and Williams countered into the Sharpshooter.
Williams took out Adonis with a dive. Drake attempted the Gravy Train, but Williams countered into the Destroyer for a very close near fall. He went for the Destroyer again, but Drake countered into the Gravy Train to retain the championship.
Next Week: It’s a special Thanksgiving edition of Impact.
The Big News: Andrade “Cien” Almas laid out Drew McIntyre in the closing segment, possibly injuring the champ’s knee going into their title match.
The Medium News: In a match that will be filmed before TakeOver, Johnny Gargano will challenge for Pete Dunne’s WWE United Kingdom Championship on next week’s episode.
The Little Beaver-sized News: The Street Profits continued their undefeated streak, ending Tino Sabbatelli & Riddick Moss’ winning streak at one.
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I am back from Australia! The trip was amazing and I wish I didn’t have to come home. I want to thank Paul Fontaine and Dave Bath for the excellent job they both did at filling in for me the last two weeks. Let’s see if I remember how to do this.
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The Street Profits defeated Tino Sabbatelli & Riddick Moss
It was Solo Cup time as The Street Profits kicked things off this week. Their foes this week are Tino Sabbatelli & Riddick Moss. While I was away, these four men had a confrontation in front of Sabbatelli & Moss’ Maserati, so that leads to this bout.
This was The Street Profits’ first non-squash match since their push began, and they were running wild until Moss distracted Montez Ford, giving the heels the advantage. Angelo Dawkins got the hot tag, which woke the crowd back up momentarily until he missed a corner splash, but Dawkins hit a forearm out of nowhere to pick up the win with a pin on Moss.
I don’t know if this match was heavily edited, but that finish really did come out of nowhere.
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We had a video package for the upcoming Aleister Black-Velveteen Dream match.
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Lars Sullivan defeated Raul Mendoza
This Saturday at NXT TakeOver: War Games, Kassius Ohno has a death wish as he goes one-on-one with the undefeated (in singles competition) Lars Sullivan. Mendoza cut a really good promo two months ago and has yet to be given promo time (or a win) since.
Mendoza lit Sullivan up with kicks early on and came off the top rope with a move, but Sullivan used the Vladimir Kozlov headbutt to the chest to cut him off. Sullivan squashed Mendoza with two corner splashes and then hit a powerslam before finishing him off with The Freak Accident.
Not only does the winning streak continue, but so does Sullivan’s streak of not being taken off his feet by his opponent.
After the match, Sullivan grabbed Mendoza for more punishment, but Ohno jogged to the ring. Sullivan laughed at Ohno and walked away.
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William Regal was making jokes with the cameraman when Johnny Gargano came into his office and said to not give up on him. Mr. Regal told him that he’ll challenge Pete Dunne for the UK title next week.
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The video package for War Games aired next.
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Ember Moon defeated Mercedes Martinez
Two weeks ago, Martinez declared that Moon would not win the Women’s title at TakeOver. Not sure how she arrived at this conclusion, but Moon took offense and here we are.
This was a more competitive match than perhaps you would expect since Moon is three days away from challenging for the title. Martinez caved in Moon’s chest with a chop that reverberated from Orlando to Ontario and then broke out a combo Eddie Guerrero/Davey Boy Smith tribute with a Three Amigos where the last suplex was a delayed vertical.
Moon made her comeback, hitting a beautiful suicide dive outside the ring, but Martinez cut her off when she went for The Eclipse and hit a running Diamond Cutter from the top rope. A minute later, Moon fought back and finally hit The Eclipse for the win.
Nikki Cross, Peyton Royce, and Kairi Sane all came out to stare at each other after the match.
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Live on the WWE Network this Saturday night, it is NXT TakeOver: War Games, featuring:
The Undisputed Era vs. SAnitY vs. Roderick Strong & The Authors of Pain in the first-ever WWE War Games match
Kairi Sane vs. Peyton Royce vs. Ember Moon vs. Nikki Cross for the vacant NXT Women’s Championship
NXT Champion Drew McIntyre defending against Andrade “Cien” Almas
Aleister Black vs. Velveteen Dream
Kassius Ohno vs. Lars Sullivan
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Also, next week on NXT:
WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne defending against Johnny Gargano
Sonya Deville vs. Ruby Riot
At least five lengthy video packages recapping every single moment of TakeOver, along with post-match interviews
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The main event segment of the show saw NXT Champion Drew McIntyre come out for a promo building up his title match this Saturday night. McIntyre gave Andrade “Cien” Almas and Zelina Vega credit for Vega’s plan working, but now they’re in trouble because reality is setting in that Almas has to face him.
Vega has been rambling on about success and about mountains, but Almas will find out soon enough that McIntyre is the bloody mountain. McIntyre invited Almas out to face him like a man to prove something, not to McIntyre or Vega, but to himself. He dared Almas to come out and face him like a man…unless Vega isn’t going to let him off the leash.
Out came Almas and it…was…on! McIntyre got the best of him until Vega dove off the top rope. McIntyre caught Vega and looked befuddled before Almas clipped his knee from behind. Almas stomped away at McIntyre’s knee as Vega dropped the championship onto McIntyre’s prone body.
Is Andrade “Cien” Almas our next NXT Champion? There’s only one way to find out, and that’s to check out NXT TakeOver: War Games this Saturday night. Until then, remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
Kalisto was shown backstage hyping up his birthday, with him saying that he’ll beat Drew Gulak tonight. Gulak and Enzo Amore were backstage next to Kalisto’s cake, and Amore told Gulak to beat Kalisto and roll in dough.
Amore apparently bought the cake for Kalisto and snuck a taste before slapping Gulak’s hand for doing the same. Amore’s faction is now called the Zo Train, and Mustafa Ali will face Zo Train member Ariya Daivari later in the night.
Jack Gallagher and Brian Kendrick walked down to face Cedric Alexander and Rich Swann. Gallagher cut an intense promo on them for being ignorant. Swann hyped up Alexander as being from Charlotte and got a nice reaction.
Cedric Alexander & Rich Swann defeated Brian Kendrick & Jack Gallagher in a tornado tag match
This was a tornado tag match, so it ended up being pretty chaotic. Nigel McGuinness had a great line about the Alexander School of Chiropracty handing out free Lumbar Checks tonight. Alexander and Kendrick brawled near the announce table, then Gallagher dropkicked Alexander over the table.
Swann kicked out at two in the ring and Gallagher landed a sick kick to the head. They destroyed Swann in the corner after sending Alexander back out to the announce table. The heels used dual submissions on the faces — with Kendrick locking on the Captain’s Hook on Alexander while Gallagher had a Fujiwara armbar on Swann.
Swann prevented a tap from Alexander, so the heels locked on a Fujiwara armbar/Captain’s Hook combo on him before Alexander made a save. Kendrick had Alexander pinned in the corner and a Gallagher dropkick set up a Sliced Bread for two.
Swann kicked away at Gallagher before hitting a double famouser on the heels for two. Swann and Kendrick fought up top, where the heels sent him off with a double hip toss for a near fall. Alexander got the tag and hit a big spinning elbow but ate a dropkick to the leg.
Gallagher went for the corner dropkick, but Swann connected with a spin kick and then a suicide DDT. The neutralizer kick and Lumbar Check hit on Kendrick and the faces won it.
Mustafa Ali defeated Ariya Daivari
Daivari came down and put over Amore, saying there’s no value in Kalisto being champion — but Amore being champ ensures more cash and fame. Ali cut an unfunny promo about Daivari having his head too far up Amore’s butt and talked about wanting to make 205 Live better — which made the crowd turn on him.
Ali flipped around a bit to start things off and a blind crossbody got two for him. He went for a springboard, but Daivari shoved him off and to the floor. Daivari kicked away mid-ring to continue to ground Ali. Ali landed a series of forearms but ate a bulldog for two.
Daivari flew off the second rope for a flying elbow but missed. Ali then hit a pair of axe handles and flips, but Daivari put him down with a falling inverted DDT before hitting a frog splash for two. Daivari went for a fireman’s carry slam but ended up eating elbows. Ali went up for the inverted 450 and hit it to win.
Kalisto stretched before his match and birthday party, with Akira Tozawa wishing him luck.
Amore entered for the birthday party. The crowd chanted “Enzo Amore” and he told them thanks, he already knows his name. Amore said he’s spent a great deal of money on this party to truly celebrate Kalisto. Amore mentioned that they got him a great gift — a beating from Gulak, who asked “How are you doing?” before Amore told him to never do that again.
Amore said the cake is quality — it’ll be good until Thanksgiving if you freeze it at the right temperature and Kalisto can eat it as he lives in misery after he loses at Survivor Series.
Kalisto defeated Drew Gulak
Gulak controlled the wrist to start. Kalisto turned the tables on him quickly, but Gulak chopped away on the ropes. Gulak teased tossing Kalisto into the cake, but Kalisto fought it off. Gulak beat him up for a while, so the crowd sang “Happy Birthday.”
Gulak locked on a Romero Special and went for a dive off the bottom rope. Kalisto turned that into a basement rana for two. Amore gave Kalisto a cheap shot and Gulak sang “Happy Birthday” angrily before the Salida Del Sol hit and Kalisto got a quick win.
Amore destroyed Kalisto after the match until he fought back and got a “we want cake” chant. He went to throw Amore into the cake, but Gulak made the save.
McGuinness and Vic Joseph talked about Sunday’s pay-per-view and the two-hour pre-show. Backstage, Amore was upset and Kalisto rammed his face into the cake. They delivered the heel being smashed into the cake — but didn’t do it in front of the fans. Well, that was a bit underwhelming.
The Big Takeaway: HHH is now a member of Team Raw, replacing Jason Jordan. HHH made his first Raw appearance since the WrestleMania go-home show in an apperance that totally destroyed Jason Jordan’s hope for getting over as a babyface, as if it had any left. Earlier, Jordan defeated Bray Wyatt, but Wyatt “injured Jordan’s knee” after Jordan tweaked it during the match. After losing, Wyatt rammed the knee into the post. Angle was about to remove Jordan for fear of his own “son’s” safety when HHH showed up to tell Jordan he was out. How HHH knew that Jordan would hurt his knee before tonight is a question I’ll leave you to answer. HHH gave Jordan a Pedigree, for good measure. Also, the Shield will face the New Day at Survivor Series.
Show Recap:
Stephanie McMahon started things. She said she needed leaders to execute the important decisions she has to make on a daily decisions, which means she needed leaders in the right positions. Stephanie brought out Kurt Angle and asked him how the New Day got into the building last week? Kurt said he didn’t know. Stephanie said at least he was honest. Then Stephanie asked was their actually a raid? Kurt told he was prepared for a raid. Stephanie again asked was there a raid? She said for the 25th anniversary of Raw, she could show a compliation video from the time Shane McMahon leader Under Siege, then Angle leading the entire Raw roster out for a raid of nothing. Then Stephanie asked Kurt who was the 5th member of Team Raw. Angle said Jason Jordan (name was booed louder than hell). Stephanie derided Angle for putting his son on his team. Meanwhile, the 5th member of the SmackDown team is John Cena (mixed response), a 16-time world champion. The last time Stephanie saw Cena, he was on Raw. Stephanie said either Angle chose Jordan over Cena, or Cena decided to join up the SmackDown team because he was embarrassed over Cena’s actions.
Sephanie asked Angle what was the first thing he was going to do at Survivor Series. Angle said he was going to break Shane McMahon’s ankle. Stephanie wondered if Angle still thinks this is the 1990s? Stephanie said Shane was too smart to go one-on-one with Angle and said she didn’t think Angle was capable of breaking anyone’s ankle anymore. She said she think she’s made a mistake making Angle team captain. Stephanie said Shane is trying to make Raw irrelevant. She said she wanted her brother’s head on a platter (why was she at the SmackDown in September when Kevin Owens laid Vince McMahon out?). She started to fire Angle when Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins came out through the crowd.
Stephanie wondered if the fans were going to chant for the Shield. Ambrose said they’ve seen leaders come and go and no one does it better than Angle. Ambrose said at TLC, Angle proved he’s still got it, which led to an obvious chant. Stephanie said Angle may still have it, but the Shield lost the tag team titles because of Angle. She wondered if the Shield even has a tag team match at Survivor Series. She said Angle made them look like fools. She asked Reigns where has she been? Reigns asked where has Stephanie been? Rollins had a blank look on his face. Reigns said they don’t do what Stephanie tells us to do, they do what they want to do. Reigns said they want to fight the New Day. So if the New Day has any balls, they will be booked for Survivor Series. Reigns said Angle will lead Team Raw to victory and the Shield would whip the New Day’s asses.
Bayley pinned Mickie James in a three-way match that also included Dana Brooke to become the 5th member of the Raw Women’s Team (7:32)
Bayley pinned Mickie James with a Bayley-to-belly. James knocked Dana Brooke out of the ring. Asuka (who was a ringside with the rest of the Raw Women’s team, Alicia Fox, Sasha Banks and Nia Jax) checked on Brooke, but Brooke gave her a forearm. Asuka chased Brooke around the ring and gave her a spin kick to the floor. Asuka got her biggest reaction since making the move to Raw. Highlight was James giving Bayley a great hangman’s neckbreaker that sent her out of the ring, leading to the Asuka spot.
Enzo Amore and Drew Gulak did some comedy prematch dialogue. Gulak’s new gimmick is he’s trying to stop fans from chanting. He’s basically doing a bitter old man gimmick. Amore finished his usual introduction by asking “How you doin?” and Gulak answered him at length. “I’m doing, well, thanks for asking…” That was actually a takeoff of a beer commercial from the 90s.
Enzo Amore and Drew Gulak defeated Akira Tozawa and Kalisto (7:47)
Enzo pinned Akira Tozawa after a Jordanzo. Tozawa had Enzo set up for the senton bomb, but Gulak started to pull Enzo out of the ring. Kalisto stopped Gulak with a somersault bodyblock off the apron. Enzo recovered to pull Tozawa into Kalisto, which knocked Kalisto off the apron. Tozawa dove through Kalisto’s legs through the ropes to deliver a tope on Amore, who didn’t make a very good catch. Kalisto hit Gulak with a somersault tope. Someone may have been shaken up because it took everyone a while to get up.
They showed tweets from the New Day where they accepted the Shield’s challenge.
Angle was backstage with Samoa Joe, Braun Strowman, Finn Balor and Jordan. Angle said he needed proof that Balor and Joe could work together as a team, so he’s pairing them in a match against Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows. Angle told Jordan the only reason why he’s on Team Raw is because he’s Angle son. So to prove he isn’t playing favorites, Angle is putting him in a match against Bray Wyatt tonight. Before Angle could say anything, Strowman said he wanted Kane. Angle made the match.
The Miz, Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel (wearing a neckbrace) came out for MizTV. Miz cut a promo on Baron Corbin, who has a match against Sin Cara for the U.S. Title tomorrow on SmackDown. Miz said Corbin blows opportunity after opportunity, talking about how Corbin lost his Money in the Bank briefcase and wasn’t even on SmackDown last week. Miz said he doesn’t blow opportunities, and when he isn’t given opportunities, he creates them. That actually got a crowd pop. He introduced Sheamus and Cesaro, the new Raw Tag Team Champions. The Bar will wrestle the Usos at Survivor Series.
Miz congratulated Sheamus and Cesaro on their victory last week. Sheamus said they kept their eyes on the price and they weren’t distracted by the New Day. Cesaro, who speaks with a lisp as a gimmick now, said they were 3-time tag team champions. Sheamus said the Usos won their championships on the B-show SmackDown. Crowd started chanting “You look stupid” at Sheamus. Miz did his raise the hand routine to get more heat. Sheamus said they were the A-team tag team champions, they were the flagship show tag team champions, the Raw tag team champions. Cesaro said they were going to jailbreak the Usso penitentiary. Miz said they would be taking on the original Shield for the first time in three years tonight. Reigns got more cheers because he played football at Georgia Tech in the mid-00s. Miz said the Shield had to set aside the years of fighting each other just for the honor of fighting them. Miz said this was their opportunity, their time and their victory. The Bar did their catchphrase.
Jason Jordan defeated Bray Wyatt (7:12)
Jordan pinned Wyatt after a schoolboy cradle when Wyatt attempted Sister Abigail. No word on Sister Abigail as Wyatt’s alterego, by the way. Jordan sold a knee injury after he jumped off the second rope. Following his loss, Wyatt jumped Jordan from behind to mass cheers from the crowd. Angle watched on in horror backstage as Wyatt rammed Jordan’s leg into the post. Crowd booed the hell out of Jordan and chanted “hey, hey, hey, goodbye” as he limped up the ramp.
Angle told Jordan he wasn’t 100% to compete at Survivor Series. Jordan said this was the opportunity he’s waited for his entire life. You could hear the crown groan as Jordan limped away.
Lesnar came out with Paul Heyman. Heyman explained the top five selling points of purchasing the WWE Network for this Sunday: 1. This was the Universal Champion would face the WWE Champion in history. It was the first time Lesnar would face Styles. It may be the only time Lesnar faces Styles. 2. Heyman said he wants to see Lesnar vs. Styles because no one knows Lesnar better than he does. He said Styles is elusive, his defensive is evasive, his offensive is effusive, and Styles has a speed advantage. Before he got to selling point #3, apparently a fan proposed during Heyman’s promo. The crowd starting chanting “She said yes.” Heyman said she only said yes because she’s never been up close with a beast like Brock Lesnar. He said interrupting his promo is like stepping in the ring with Brock Lesnar and said “you ain’t got a chance.” Heyman said the third point was Styles was the single most talented in-ring performer of this generation. Heyman said some would say Finn Balor, but Styles is the ultimate opponent for Lesnar. No one had more momentum in the WWE than Styles. The only thing is Styles has to come from behind and be the ultimate underdog because he has to step into the ring with Lesnar, a Georgia Bulldog eating carnivore. Heyman said Lesnar is the #1 champion in the WWE then, now and forever.
The fourth point was if you want to see a Rocky movie come to life, I give you Styles. Crowd started chanting Styles. Heyman said Styles is the ultimate underdog because he’s beaten Cena, Shane, and Jinder Mahal this year. Except selling point F-5, this is no Rocky movie. This is the Survivor Series because Styles can’t survive the F-5. Heyman looks forward to seeing Styles this Sunday and get beaten, victimized and conquered by Lesnar.
The Shield defeated The Miz and the Bar (15:05)
Reignspinned Miz after the Triple Power Bomb. Reigns gave Miz a spear, Ambrose gave Miz Dirty Deeds and Rollins did a springboard knee. Miz made a blind tag from Cesaro, who Reigns tried to pin after a Superman punch. Miz immediately tried to pin Reigns with a schoolboy cradle while holding the trunks, but got only two. Very good match. Cesaro attempted the Gotch Neutralizer after hitting a springboard uppercut, but Rollins jumped in to block it. Ambrose appeared to injure his elbow following a tope on Sheamus. Earlier, the Shield sent Miz running to the back when Sheamus and Cesaro were down. During the Shield’s ring entrance, a fan got roughed up by security when he snuck through and nearly got to Reigns from behind.
Kane did a promo backstage saying even someone as sick and depraved as he is can smile when he could hear the sound of the garbage truck crushing Strowman’s body. Tonight, he would show Strowman there are worse things in life than death, and that’s him.
Angle was back out. He said earlier, Stephanie said that being the Raw GM meant making tough decisions and this was one of those times. Earlier tonight, Jordan suffered a knee injury against Wyatt and now he needed to make an announcement regarding the Raw team. Jordan limped out urging Angle not to replace him. The crowd booed the hell out of him again. Angle said Jordan had his whole career ahead of him and the Survivor Series wasn’t worth it. Jordan said he emulated his father and his father had won the gold medal while injured (he even did it in Atlanta, which he didn’t mention). Poor Jordan was dying out there as he said he knew that Angle didn’t pick him because he was his son, he picked him because of his ability. Stephanie came out and said “give me a break. Either Kurt tells him or she will.” Kurt started to make an announcement.
Then HHH’s music hit and HHH came out to a massive pop. HHH got in Angle’s face and said either Angle will tell Jordan or he will. HHH announced the 5th man on Team Raw would be him. Then Jordan looked on helplessly, watching his career pass in front of him, waiting on the inevitable. Sure enough, HHH glared at him, said something to Angle and gave Jordan the Pedigree, putting himself in the usual position of being the biggest babyface and the biggest heel, all at once.
Finn Balor and Samoa Joe defeated Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows (12:54)
Balor pinned Anderson after the Coupe de Grace after Joe delivered a uranage. Joe and Balor did the partners who don’t get along deal. It’s an improvement because last year, it felt like the entire buildup of the Survivor Series was nothing but teams not getting along with each other. Joe shoved Balor down before the match. Joe did a elbow suicidia on Gallows at the finish. Joe stormed to the back immediately after Balor got the pin, showing he didn’t want to be partners with Balor any longer than he had to. Balor worked most of the match and Joe was only in for the hot tag sequence.
Charly Caruso did an interview with Alexa Bliss about facing either Natalia or Charlotte at Survivor Series. She teased being in Charlotte and interfering. She said SmackDown started being the B show when she left it, called herself the Goddess and said regardless of who she was facing at Survivor Series, she would prevail.
Kane and Strowman made their ring entrances. For whatever reason, even though they stared each other down in the middle of the ring, the referee never called for the bell. So their “match” was simply a brawl around ringside. Kane used some chair shots to Strowman’s back, then set up a table that was never broken. At one point, the two fought on the top rope and Strowman teased giving Kane a superplex to the floor through the table. It ended with Strowman delivering the running powerslam to Kane, and the slam put a hole in the ring. Neither man emerged from the hole.
Previously: At Bound for Glory, Impact Global Champion Eli Drake defeated Johnny Impact after Alberto El Patron interfered.
Tonight: GHC Heavyweight Champion Eddie Edwards defends against El Hijo Del Fantasma.
Show Recap —
– Eli Drake and Chris Adonis came down to the ring. Drake bragged about retaining the championship at Bound for Glory. He’s taking the night off because there are no challengers left and he wants to leave Canada.
Petey Williams came out and said he’s not going to stop him from leaving because nobody wants him to stay. Williams and Drake agreed to face each other next week. Williams ended up brawling with Adonis and Drake, then Williams attempted the Canadian Destroyer on Drake until Adonis pulled him to safety.
– Jimmy Jacobs came out and joined Josh Mathews and Jeremy Borash on commentary. Mathews and Jacobs took a selfie together.
Matt Sydal defeated Sonjay Dutt
Jacobs being on commentary was the focus early in the match. Eventually, he got upset with Borash for ignoring him and left.
Sydal gained the advantage by working over Dutt’s leg. Dutt used a superplex to briefly take over, but Sydal went back to the leg. Dutt made another comeback but was slow climbing to the top. Sydal cut him off and won with the Shooting Star Press.
After the match, Impact Grand Champion Ethan Carter III came out. He said Sydal chokes every time it’s a big match and that maybe in another lifetime he could be reborn a winner.
GWN Flashback Moment of the Week: Team International (Hector Garza, Sonjay Dutt & Amazing Red) defeated Team Canada (Petey Williams, Bobby Roode & Eric Young)
This match was the GWN Flashback Moment of the Week and took place back in 2004. The heels isolated Red in their corner and worked him over, then Garza got the hot tag and ran wild until Roode cut him off. Dutt nailed Roode with a hurricanrana and Garza hit a twisting moonsault for the win.
GHC Heavyweight Champion Eddie Edwards defeated El Hijo Del Fantasma to retain his title
Edwards scored a close near fall with the Blue Thunder Bomb. Fantasma caught Edwards with a knee for a two count. Edwards attempted a Tiger Driver on the apron, but Fantasma fought it off. They both ended up nailing each other with suicide dives.
Edwards attempted the Tiger Driver again before Fantasma countered for another near fall. Edwards hit the Boston Knee Party and followed up with the Die Hard Flowsion to win.
Sami Callihan & OVE defeated Phil Atlas, Ray Steele & Marcus Burke
Callihan and OVE completely dominated and won easily. After the match, LAX came out and brawled with OVE.
– In the back, McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Global Forged winner Hakim Zane. Suddenly, Johnny Impact jumped Zane and promised to get revenge on Alberto El Patron.
Allie defeated KC Spinelli from BCW in Windsor, Canada
Spinelli scored a two count with a fisherman’s suplex before Allie came back with a codebreaker for a very close near fall. Spinelli missed a moonsault, with Allie hitting the Death Valley Driver for the win.
– In the back, Mitchell tried to interview Alberto El Patron when Johnny Impact suddenly jumped him. Braxton Sutter and Caleb Konley got involved and ended up brawling with each other.
Impact and El Patron fought all over the back and went outside to the streets of Ottawa. El Patron told Impact the championship is his and they fought back inside the arena. Security tried to get involved, but they couldn’t keep these two from destroying each other.
El Patron climbed up a ladder onto a small restroom building to get away from Impact. El Patron kicked over the ladder, so Impact ran up a vending machine to get on top. El Patron dangled from the top and Impact kicked him off. Impact then leaped off the top of the building and landed on El Patron and security. This was a pretty epic backstage brawl.
After the commercial break, El Patron and Impact fought down to the ring. El Patron sent Impact into the steps and security came out to break it up again. El Patron said this is his company and he ordered security to hold Impact back.
El Patron teased having a match with Impact, but he walked away instead. Impact said El Patron wasn’t the pride of his father, and this caused El Patron to charge the ring. He nailed Impact with a cheap shot and a DDT. He then locked on the cross armbreaker in the ropes.
Next Week: Impact Global Champion Eli Drake defends against Petey Williams. Also, Sami Callahan & OVE face LAX. Plus, Knockouts Champion Gail Kim has a major announcement to make.
Previously: William Regal officially announced The Undisputed Era vs. SAnitY vs. The Authors of Pain & Roderick Strong in a War Games match at the next TakeOver in Houston.
Tonight: In the main event, Roderick Strong faces Adam Cole.
Show Recap —
Heavy Machinery defeated Chris Payne & Sean Maluta
Heavy Machinery dominated the match and won easily with The Compacter. At one point, Otis Dozovic did the Worm into an elbow drop.
– In the back, Ember Moon was interviewed and challenged Mercedes Martinez to a match next week.
Kairi Sane defeated Billie Kay (w/ Peyton Royce)
Sane was in control early, but Royce interfered to give Kay the advantage. Kay used the torture rack to slow the pace of the match down until Sane made a fiery comeback using the spear. Kay scored a near fall after Royce interfered again, then Sane won the match after hitting the Insane Elbow.
– In William Regal’s office, Kassius Ohno requested a match with Lars Sullivan at TakeOver: War Games and Regal agreed to the match.
– Earlier, Zelina Vega and Andrade “Cien” Almas discussed Almas’ upcoming NXT Championship match against Drew McIntyre. The interviewer asked about the nature of their relationship, but Vega wouldn’t let Almas answer.
Velveteen Dream defeated Cezar Bononi
Bononi had the brief advantage, though Dream easily took over. Dream used the Death Valley Bomb for the win.
After the match, Dream promised to defeat Aleister Black at TakeOver.
– In the back, Ruby Riot was getting her ankle checked out. Sonya Deville confronted Riot and they agreed to face each other when Riot heals up.
– Backstage, The Street Profits argued with Tino Sabbatelli and Riddick Moss over a suit. They agreed to a match next week.
Roderick Strong defeated Adam Cole by DQ
They started off with some mat wrestling but soon started trading chops. Strong had the advantage before Cole used the referee as a shield and nailed Strong with a superkick to take over.
Strong made a comeback and scored a close near fall with a backbreaker. In a sick spot, Strong and Cole were trading shots when Strong gave Cole a backbreaker on the top turnbuckle. Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly then interfered to cause the disqualification.
After the match, SAnitY and The Authors of Pain ran out, with all three teams engaging in a wild brawl. Strong superplexed Cole from the top turnbuckle to the floor and landed on the other guys as they brawled.
Next Week: Drew McIntyre and Andrade “Cien” Almas meet face to face. Plus, Ember Moon takes on Mercedes Martinez.
Date: November 7, 2017 Location: Manchester Arena in England
The Big Takeaway —
AJ Styles beat Jinder Mahal to become WWE Champion. Styles will face Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series. The title change received a monster pop from the Manchester crowd and Tom Phillips said it was the first ever WWE Title change outside of North America. It was also the first WWE Title change on Smackdown since 2003.
Becky Lynch beat James Ellsworth in a singles match, and there were two very strange finishes elsewhere on the show.
Show Recap —
They showed a video package hyping tonight’s title match, with AJ Styles and Jinder Mahal cutting pre-taped promos. This was good. The announcers plugged Becky Lynch vs. James Ellsworth, calling it “A battle of the sexes,” as well as the two title matches.
Shane McMahon came out to start the show to a big reaction from the Manchester crowd. He said Raw will never be able to call SmackDown the B show, and this time it’s personal. He held Stephanie McMahon and Kurt Angle responsible for what happened to Daniel Bryan and claimed they sent Kane after him.
Shane said he could get revenge on Raw himself because he’ll be in the ring at Survivor Series. The crowd chanted “Yes” for Bryan and Shane let them know he would return next week. Shane then called out the guys who did something phenomenal last night, and the crowd chanted “New Day rocks” before he actually introduced them.
Kofi Kingston laughed about Raw doing nothing. He admitted they had no intentions of costing Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins the titles, but those were the consequences of Raw being under siege. Shane loved what they did and led a New Day rocks chant and swiveled his hips along with them.
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens interrupted (to Owens’ music). Owens said Shane’s dance was the stupidest thing he’s ever seen. The crowd chanted “Ole” and “Kevin Owens.” Zayn mocked Shane’s dancing, so New Day mocked Zayn’s dancing.
Owens said Shane had daddy issues and Zayn said they could’ve taken out Raw by themselves. Zayn called he and Owens, “men of honour” and claimed they were being set up to fail. They complained about needing to even have qualifying matches to represent SmackDown but Shane noted that they both failed.
Owens asked if they would get favouritism if they danced with him like the New Day puppets. Kingston mocked Zayn for looking like a paperboy and someone who has never been to the gym. Zayn said he would be happy when Raw beats SmackDown, so Shane put him in a match with Kingston.
Kofi Kingston (w/Big E & Xavier Woods) defeated Sami Zayn (w/Kevin Owens) (9:49)
Excluding the Royal Rumble, this is the first time these two have opposed each other in a match on TV. Kingston took most of the match until Zayn hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall.
Kingston came back with a flying crossbody for the pinfall win, which was a surprise. Owens immediately jumped in the ring to break up the cover, but was too late. I don’t know if they botched the finish or not, but it sure came off that way.
Backstage, Jinder Mahal told Renee Young that AJ Styles was just an appetizer, and at Survivor Series, he would feast on the beast.
Bludgeon Brothers promo. “This world is a horrible place. We’re here to make it worse. No cage can contain us. No asylum can understand us. And when we’re done, humanity will swell over. Harper. Rowan. Bludgeon Brothers.” [Slam the ground with hammers.]
Randy Orton defeated Rusev (w/Aiden English) (7:00)
Aiden English introduced Rusev with a new song:
The lion of Bulgaria, who beat the viper before
And tonight he shall defeat Randy Orton once more
He’ll join Team Smackdown, so Raw beware
And at Survivor Series, all will declare
It’s Rusev Day
The crowd chanted “Rusev Day” and there were dueling chants of “Let’s go Rusev” and “RKO.” They cut to a shot of Bobby Roode (in his robe), Shane McMahon and Shinsuke Nakamura just standing around watching the match together.
Orton won with an RKO, so Rusev failed to join Team SmackDown.
James Ellsworth was outside the women’s locker room and asked Tamina to find Carmella for him. He got Becky Lynch instead. Ellsworth said this women’s revolution was getting out of hand and she didn’t have a chance against him. He said the ring was no place for the softer sex and he just lets Carmella compete because it makes her happy. He also noted they were in Manchester, not Womanchester. Lynch told him those were some ballsy statements from someone who didn’t have any.
Becky Lynch defeated James Ellsworth (w/Carmella) (5:54)
Ellsworth came out to Carmella’s music. Charlotte Flair, Naomi, Tamina and Lana are at ringside. This is the top-of-the-hour segment. The crowd chanted “Becky’s gonna kill you” and “Where’s your chin.”
Ellsworth took off his shirt and he appears to be in worse shape than when he started in WWE, but Dave Meltzer will have to confirm. Lynch gave him an airplane spin and he fell to the outside. He was surrounded by the women outside the ring (excluding Carmella) so climbed back in. He turned around and saw Lynch, so he shoved her down hard and pushed her outside.
Lynch came back with a flying dropkick for a two count. Ellsworth followed with a schoolboy for two. Ellsworth tuned up the band for No Chin Music, but Lynch caught him, hit an atomic drop and Exploder.
Ellsworth fell to the outside and wanted to leave, but Charlotte pushed him back in. He pleaded with Lynch and kissed her hand, so she grabbed him and applied the Disarmer for the win.
Afterwards, Carmella got in the ring and helped Ellsworth to his feet. She stared down Lynch, but then gave Ellsworth a superkick. The crowd chanted “Yes.”
Backstage, Shane met with Charlotte and Natalya. Natalya offered to take Charlotte’s place on Team SmackDown at Survivor Series, in addition to taking on Alexa Bliss. Shane recalled that Natalya barely escaped Hell in a Cell with her title, so he made a title match between the two next week, and the winner would face Bliss. Natalya was upset and asked how many chances Charlotte would get.
WWE Tag Team Championship Match: Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin defeated The Usos via countout
Before the match, the Usos cut a promo calling Gable & Benjamin, “American Alpha 2.0” and said they were the next victims for the Uso Penitentiary. The Usos attacked them before the bell and they went to commercial.
The match was short. Gable gave an Uso an awkward-looking chop block on the outside, then crawled under the ring to hide. The announcers recalled the Usos taking out Gable a year ago with a similar move. Benjamin just stood in the ring and watched as the Usos were counted out.
This was so bizarre. Gable reappeared and mocked the Usos while Benjamin had no strong reaction one way or the other.
They plugged the TV show Damnation and mentioned Luke Harper would be on a future episode. They showed clips of him on set and he fits right in on whatever show this is.
AJ Styles told Renee Young that Mahal shouldn’t take him lightly and he needs to focus on the task at hand. Styles said he’s often undersized, but he works harder, shows up earlier and leaves later than everyone else. He stole a line from Mahal and said he would feast on the beast and beat Brock Lesnar.
Baron Corbin will defend the US Title against Sin Cara next week. Winner faces The Miz at Survivor Series.
AJ Styles defeated Jinder Mahal (w/The Singh Brothers) to become WWE Champion (16:42)
Corey Graves said the WWE title last changed hands on SmackDown in 2003 when Brock Lesnar beat Kurt Angle. The crowd chanted “You’re on steroids” so Mahal flexed in front of Styles (but didn’t look at the crowd). Styles tried a sunset flip but Mahal just grabbed him and tossed him over the top rope.
After a break, Styles fought out of a headlock and hit dropkick and forearm. He went for a slingshot dive but Mahal grabbed his leg and dropped him face-first on the apron. Mahal then tossed Styles onto the announce table to gain control.
Styles came back with strikes, sliding forearm and fireman’s carry neckbreaker for two. Styles applied a Calf Crusher but Mahal got a rope break. Styles tried more strikes but Mahal countered with a big clothesline.
Styles dropped Mahal to the outside then hit a slingshot forearm to the outside. Styles followed with a 450 splash in the ring but the Singhs pulled Mahal out of the ring. Styles attacked them both and laid them out.
Styles went for the Phenomenal forearm but Mahal grabbed him and nailed the Khallas. He seemed to have it won but Styles got his foot on the rope. Big “Yes” chants. Mahal seemed like he wanted to try a Khallas off the top, but Styles countered with a stunner over the ropes.
Styles climbed back on the apron and nailed the Phenomenal forearm for the win. Styles is the new champion. Giant pop from the crowd.
Tom Phillips said this was the first time the WWE title changed hands outside of North America. Mahal shoved down the Singh brothers as Styles celebrated.
The Big Takeaway: Sheamus and Cesaro recaptured the Raw Tag Team Championships by beating Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins when the New Day showed up to tease another SmackDown invasion. Kurt Angle brought most of the Raw roster out of the locker room, but it turned out to be a false alarm, which Sheamus and Cesaro took advantage of to win the titles. Angle completed his Raw Survivor Series team, adding Finn Balor, Samoa Joe and Jason Jordan. Alicia Fox added Asuka and Sasha Banks to her Raw Women’s team, but not Bayley, who didn’t appear pleased over that. Enzo Amore will defend his cruiserweight championship against Kalisto at Survivor Series. To build up for that match, the WWE UK Champion, Pete Dunne, pinned Amore clean on this show. Dunne was the most over performer on the card. Pretty solid show for a taped program.
Show Recap:
The show opened with a message of remembrance to the victims of the shooting in Sutherland Spring, Texas.
Miz, Dallas and Axel opened the show inthe ring with MizTV. Axel was in a neck brace from last week’s attack by Strowman. Miz warned Baron Corbin that if he ever talked about Maryse again, he would knock Corbin’s teeth down his throat. So Corbin responded by saying after their match at Survivor Series, Miz would be calling Corbin “Daddy.” Miz said Corbin was the bathroom break of SmackDown Live while he was the whole damn show on Raw. Miz said when Corbin steps through the ropes at Survivor Series, Miz will do something Corbin can’t do, which is make the United States Championship relevant. Then Miz introduced Angle.
Miz wanted to discuss Survivor Series. Angle said despite their differences, the Miz has his complete support against Corbin. Miz questioned that and Angle brought up the TLC PPV. Miz replayed Stephanie McMahon’s promo from last week where she made Angle the Raw team captain, and if Angle’s team doesn’t win then she will find a new GM. Angle said he wasn’t going anywhere, this is Raw, a show that has the best talent and the best fans. Angle said that Shane McMahon has an inferior (inferiority) complex because SmackDown will always be the “B” show. Miz brought up the SmackDown invasion from two weeks ago and replayed various Raw wrestlers getting annihilated. Miz showed Angle’s retaliation by claiming he set up Daniel Bryan when Kane choke slammed him. Miz claimed Angle locked Bryan in Angle’s office to get beaten up. Angle denied Miz’s allegations and apologized to Bryan.
Miz didn’t believe him and said when Stephanie made Angle the team captain, he saw a glimpse of the real Kurt Angle, the cutthroat Kurt Angle. He claimed Angle planned to eliminate Bryan just like Angle planned to eliminate the Miztourage. Angle didn’t know what Miz was talking about. Miz brought up last week when Angle forced him to defend the Intercontinental Championship, leaving him prone to getting jumped by Strowman. Fortunately, Miz said he and Dallas escaped. But Axel didn’t. Miz told Angle to apologize to Axel, but Angle refused. Miz said if Angle had nothing to do with Strowman’s attack on the Miztourage, why did Angle put Strowman on Team Raw the next day. Angle said Strowman deserved to be on Team Raw and Strowman was a hell of a negotiator because he had to promise Strowman one thing: a match against Miz tonight. Miz was on his hands and knees begging Angle to reconsider.
Jason Jordan defeated Elias in a Guitar on a Pole match (7:20)
The rules were the first person to use the guitar against their opponent was the winner. Elias got the guitar down from the pole, but swung and missed twice. Jordan grabbed the guitar and chased Elias around the ring with it. Jordan used a Northern Lights Suplex, followed by a Rolling Northern Lights Suplex. Then he executed a high angle throw before slamming the guitar across Elias’ back to earn the win. During the match, Booker T compared Jordan to Eric Watts getting heat when he walked into the locker room in 1992 WCW. Before the bout, Elias asked the fans what song they wanted him to sing. They responded Oasis’ “Wonderwall.” Instead, Elias did his standard song running down the town they were in.
The Bar walked in to talk with Angle. Cesaro was upset that Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins haven’t been ordered to defend their championships representing Raw at the Survivor Series. Sheamus wanted the Bar to represent Raw against the Usos as the Raw Tag Team Champions at Survivor Series. Angle agreed and ordered Rollins and Ambrose vs. the Bar for the Raw Tag Team Championships tonight.
Asuka defeated Stacy Coates via submission (1:12)
Asuka won with the Asuka Lock following the Kana Lock. Asuka didn’t get much of a reaction. Fox appeared on the big screen, wearing a captain’s hat pretending to be a boat captain because she’s off her rocker. She announced that Asuke has been added to the Raw women’s team for the Survivor Series.
Titus O’Neil and Apollo Crews did an interview with Charly Caruso. They showed Samoa Joe beatng Crews last week. O’Neil said Titus Worldwide was all about having fun, but tonight he had his eyes on Joe tonight.
Joe ran out during O’Neil’s ring entrance and knocked Crews off the ramp, then choked out O’Neil with the Coquina Clutch. Joe walked to the ring and said it doesn’t matter if you’re as big and powerful as Titus or the athleticism as Crews, if anyone stands in his way Joe will put you down. He challenged anyone in the back to come out. Finn Balor answered the challenge.
Finn Balor and Samoa Joe battled to a double countout (14:37)
Balor went for the Coup de Grace, but Joe rolled out of the way. Balor caught his 2nd slingblade of the match, but missed the Woo Dropkick and Joe hit a senton. Balor came back with a double stomp and Joe rolled out of the ring. Balor did a somersault tope onto Joe as the referee started his count. Joe caught Balor with a few right hands before the referee counted both men out. Within the first few minutes, Balor attempted the Coupe de Grace, but Joe crotched him. Joe was on offense for several minutes throwing various knee strikes and generally overpowering Balor for two counts. Balor made a comeback with a flying forearm, a running kick to Joe’s nose on the apron and the Woo dropkick on the floor.
They continued to brawl with Balor battling evenly with Joe. Several referees and security officials ran out to stop them. Finally, Angle came out and said he needed two men as aggressive as they were on his side. So Angle added Balor and Joe to Team Raw at the Survivor Series. As Balor started to go backstage, he jumped off the ramp onto Joe with a forearm tope.
Miz paced in the locker room about facing Strowman. Dallas was back in his motivtational speaker gimmick, saying Halloween was over and the monsters were gone. He said Strowman is nothing but flesh and bones, though he was a lot of flesh. Axel didn’t sound as optimistic, saying they should start running now. Miz just glared at him.
Angle called Bryan, who left a message for him wanting to personally apologize for Kane’s actions last week. Then Jordan walked in. Angle added Jordan to Team Raw, joining Angle, Strowman, Joe and Balor.
Bayley and Sasha Banks did an interview. They both said Fox hadn’t spoken to them about joining Team Raw. Bayley said she led Team Raw to victory last year at Survivor Series. Banks said they should be on this team and Fox better add them.
Sasha Banks and Bayley defeated Nia Jax and Alicia Fox via submission (11:45)
Banks made Fox tap out to the Bank Statement. Bayley sold for Nia Jax almost the entire spot with the same spots done on countless episodes this year. Before the finish, Bayley and Banks had to hoise Jax over the top rope, and it didn’t look good. Jax had to practically throw herself over the top. Bayley didn’t get much of a response coming out, but once the match started the fans in England starting singing “Hey, won’t you be my girl?” to her. After a year of being booked as poorly as one can be booked, Bayley was clearly overjoyed about that reaction.
After the match, Fox screeched that she needed Banks on her team. Banks looked pleased, but Bayley appeared upset that she was left out. Banks appeared to shurg when Bayley wondered about her plight.
Braun Strowman defeated Intercontinental Champion the Miz by DQ in a nontitle match (5:06)
Kane walked in and went toe-to-toe with Strowman, who hit the running powerslam on Kane. Then Kane sat up, so Strowman gave him a clothesline over the top rope. Kane landed on his feet. The match itself was Strowman throwing Miz around and Miz doing his best to run away. Strowman threw Miz onto Dallas and Axel over the top rope to the floor before Kane came out. After Kane left, Axel and Dallas jumped Strowman, who easily laid them out. Strowman finished Miz with a running powerslam, as well.
Rollins and Ambrose did an interview with Renee Young. Rollins said they were going to win tonight. Rollins talked about how no one wanted to see Sheamus and Cesaro win. He said Sheamus and Cesaro claim to be the bar, but Rollins rolled up his fist and said this has always been the bar since they entered WWE. After Rollins and Ambrose left, Young held out her fist like she wanted the Shield to win.
Enzo Amore came out and said he was the biggest name to enter the UK since the Bubonic Plague. Fans wanted to sing Amore’s name to the tune of “Seven Nation Army,” but he shouted them down. Amore said everyone from TMZ to newspapers wanted to know what was the future of the Cruiserweight Champion. He said a kid about the size of Kalisto asked him in the hotel who was he going to defend the cruiserweight title against. Amore said Kalisto at Survivor Series. He went on and on about how he had already defeated Kalisto for the championship and Kalisto was in cahoots with Angle to earn this title shot. Corey Graves actually talked over this interview at points, legitimately sounding like he had heat with Amore.
Kalisto came out. Then Pete Dunne’s music came on and the place erupted. Angle walked out and introduced Pete Dunne, the WWE UK Champion. Dunne didn’t need the introduction because he got the biggest pop of the show. Angle announced Dunne vs. Amore immediately.
WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne defeated WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore in a nontitle match (3:39)
Dunne pinned Amore with the Bitter End. Before the finish, Amore tried to pin Dunne with his feet on the ropes, but Kalisto alerted the referee, which distracted Dunne. Crowd was completely with Dunne and there was a huge pop when he won. Kalisto laughed at Enzo after losing for making fun of his size earlier.
Alexa Bliss did an interview with Caruso. Bliss said she heard Natalia talk about how Bliss ran off to Raw after Natalia joined SmackDown Live. Caruso interrupted her and said Bliss did, in fact, go to Raw. Bliss corrected her and said she was a two-time SmackDown Women’s Champion, just like she is now a two-time Raw Women’s Champion. Bliss asked Caruso was dows two plus two equal? Caruso said four. Bliss said she was wrong, it really equaled one. One goddess.
Next week, Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman return to Raw in Atlanta.
Also returning next week, Roman Reigns.
Sheamus and Cesaro defeated Raw Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose to win the Raw Tag Team Championship (18:50)
They had an excellent going when the New Day showed up out of the crowd. Xavier Woods teased there would be an Under Siege 2. The match, which had been going on for over 15 minutes, simply stopped. Upon seeing this, Angle rallied Rhyno, Heath Slater, Curt Hawkins (I guess every army has to have privates), Goldust and others Raw wrestlers to surround ringside. As Joe, Banks, Fox, Crews, O’Neil, and many others came out to ringisde, the New Day bolted. As soon as they did, Sheamus hit Rollins with a brogue kick for the pin.
It was a very good match. Early on, the Shield used a Hart Attack on Sheamus with Rollins doing a slingblade. Down the stretch, Cesaro and Sheamus took out Ambrose with a double crucifix bomb into the barricade. Cesaro hit the Doomsday Device on Rollins, who kicked out at two. Everyone thought that was the finish. Then Ambrose hit Sheamus with Dirty Deeds, followed by Rollins coming off the top rope with a frog splash, but Cesaro tackled Ambrose, who fell onto Rollins to break up the pin. Crowd was loving the match at this point, which was when the New Day showed up. Cesaro came out wearing the kits of the Liverpoot Futbol team, the archrival of Manchester United.
Impact Wrestling returns to pay-per-view with their biggest show of the year tonight as the Aberdeen Pavilion in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada hosts Bound for Glory 2017. The venue will also be home to five days of Impact television tapings this week.
Four title matches are set for the Bound for Glory card, topped by Eli Drake defending his Global Championship against Johnny Impact. Former champion Alberto El Patron is also expected to be on the show in some form.
In the night’s other title matches, Sienna will defend her Knockouts Championship against Gail Kim and Allie, the tag titles will be on the line in a 5150 street fight between OVE and LAX, and a six-way match for X Division gold has Trevor Lee defending against Matt Sydal, Dezmond Xavier, Sonjay Dutt, Garza Jr., and Petey Williams.
Moose’s feud with Bobby Lashley and American Top Team will continue as he & Stephan Bonnar face Lashley & King Mo in Six Sides of Steel, Abyss will take on Grado in a Monster’s Ball match, and Ethan Carter III, James Storm & Eddie Edwards team against El Hijo Del Fantasma, Pagano & Texano.
We’re looking for your thoughts on this show, as well as UFC 217 and New Japan Power Struggle for the weekend, so you can send a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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The show opened with Alberto El Patron showing up and them asking what is he going to be doing here tonight.
X-DIVISION CHAMPION TREVOR LEE VS. DEZMOND XAVIER VS. GARZA JR. VS. SONJAY DUTT VS. MATT SYDAL VS. PETEY WILLIAMS
They announced this as “Lucha style” meaning no tags but two people legal. However, it’s not an elimination match but the first pin or submission wins. Because they are in Canada, Williams got a huge reaction and came out to “O’ Canada” with the flag.
This was a good match with lots of high flying. Not everything was super crisp but it was a fun match that the crowd liked. Highlights included Xavier doing a Space Flying Tiger Drop, Williams doing a pescado into a huracanrana, and a triple tope spot. Sydal looked good. Garza’s shoulder is messed up from surgery and he clearly wasn’t ready to be back.
The finish saw Williams finally hit the Canadian Destroyer (which the match built to) on Xavier but Lee threw Williams out of the ring and stole the pin.
TYSON DUX VS. TAIJI ISHIMORI
They called Dux the hottest free agent in Canada. NOAH Chairman Masayuki Uchida came out with Ishimori. They pushed that the winner would be in line for a shot at Lee. This was a short match that was more like a TV enhancement match. Ishimori won ith a 450, so they are probably doing Lee vs. Ishimori at TV Monday or later in the week.
Grado saw Abyss, called him Joseph, and said we don’t need to do this. Abyss said, “There’s no Joseph here but you’re about to feel pain and suffering and carnage” and said he’s about to be exported. (Actually, deported). Grado stood up to him, said it’s a different Grado and called him Joseph again.
ALBERTO EL PATRON PROMO
Alberto el Patron is now out and wants to give us a history lesson. He got a good reaction but not overwhelming. He’s doing an anti-authority gimmick. He talked about what the company, the cowards, and the perros did to him. They screwed him and destroyed him because they have no cajones. He called them backstabbers. They believed all the lies instead of reading the reports because “as the reports will tell you, I didn’t do anything but they suspended me and stopped paying me.” The announcers are acting like it’s a shoot and talked about pulling the mic.
Alberto said they stripped him of the title, that the current champion is fake and he has to beat him to be the real champion. He said this place didn’t care about his family, his young children, and said there’s a loser who wanted to spread lies and stuff that never happened. He said after showing that he didn’t do anything, none of them called or texted him and nobody came to his house. He vowed to do something tonight and said the place was filled with losers, cowards and backstabbers.
He went to Jeremy Borash and said he thought they were friends and asked him where he was three months ago. He said JB never called or texted him. Fans wanted him to put Borash through a table. He told Borash to tell the people if he called. Borash said he never called, never texted, and apologized. He and Borash shook hands and Borash acted all nervous. Alberto said he was going to make a statement. JB said they should talk about this tonight, but then Alberto did nothing and said, “Maybe not”. He just said, “Tonight would be amazing” and then he left.
GRADO VS. ABYSS IN A MONSTER’S BALL MATCH WHERE GRADO’S VISA IS AT STAKE
This was a mess. They did the thumbtacks and barbed wire boards including Grado splashing on board with Abyss in the middle, making a barbed wire board sandwich. At one point, Van Ness interfered and gave Grado a low blow for not marrying her. Van Ness got Janice the nail board and then the lights went out. Rosemary came out and attacked Van Ness and saved Grado by blowing mist at Van Ness. Abyss was about to chokeslam Rosemary, but they were a team before and she stroked his forehead. She went to blow mist at Grado who moved, and Abyss got the mist in the eyes. Abyss was blinded and chokeslammed Rosemary on thumbtacks instead. Grado then schoolboyed Abyss for a three count and the bell rang. Borash, who knew it wasn’t the right finish, said he kicked out at two and the timekeeper rang the bell early. Abyss won with a black hole slam on a barbed wire board right afterward.
TEAM IMPACT (ETHAN CARTER III & JAMES STORM & EDDIE EDWARDS) VS. TEAM AAA (TEXANO & EL HIJO DEL FANTASMA & PAGANO)
Dorian Roldan was out with Team AAA. They mentioned Edwards was going to defend the GHC title on Impact Thursday night, so that’s being taped tomorrow.
This was a long match that was really sloppy a lot of the way. Pagano isn’t good at all and a lot of the other stuff looked mistimed, but they did a lot of big moves and the crowd was into the Impact vs. outsiders idea. Storm pinned Pagano with a superkick that didn’t land solid after ECIII used low blows on Pagano & Texano at the same time that led to a double One Percenter. Early on they teased that ECIII wouldn’t tag in but later he did, and at the end, he was all in on the team and celebrated with Storm. Edwards took a package tombstone from Fantasma and was taken out, although he was celebrating, to set up Storm’s win.
TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS OVE VS. LAX FOR THE TAG TITLES IN A 5150 STREET FIGHT
The rules basically were that it’s a gang war so everyone can legally interfere.
OVE retained the titles in a big brawl with all the weapons used again. The finish saw Sami Callihan throw powder in Konnan’s eyes and then throw Santana off the top rope onto a ladder bridge. He then gave Ortiz a piledriver off the apron through a table and both Crist Brothers pinned Ortiz to win. They buried LAX under a Mexican flag when it was over.
Before the match, Callihan had supposedly hit someone with a pipe and the idea was that it was Homicide backstage buried under a Mexican flag and taken out. Most likely, it was just some extra. At one point, Santana did a New Jack dive on Dave off a light stand through a table after Ortiz had powerbomed Jake off the stage through a table. There was a chair shot to the head as well. These guys took a ton of punishment to get the match over. There was some sloppiness in the sense this wouldn’t be a good match on a major league show but it worked here and the crowd liked it.
KNOCKOUTS CHAMPION SIENNA VS. GAIL KIM VS. ALLIE
Anthony Carelli (Santino Marella) was shown at ringside. They called him Anthony Carelli and Josh Matthews said he’s known him so long he calls him Boris (his OVW name a long time ago).
The match was sloppy. The whole story was about Kim trying to win the title in her final Bound for Glory, which she did, pinning Sienna with the Eat Defeat off the middle rope. When the match was over, Borash said it was Gail’s final match and that was was retiring on top. I guess she’ll retire with the title on TV. The crowd like Kim so the story worked, but it’s not like they went crazy for it.
Jimmy Jacobs showed up which is interesting that he was on both ROH and Impact. They said how Jacobs doesn’t work here. He said, “I don’t work here? That’s what you think.”
BOBBY LASHLEY & KING MO LAWAL VS. STEPHAN BONNAR & MOOSE
They showed UFC welterweight Colby Covington backstage with Dan Lambert and a couple of other guys as ATT.
Lashley pinned Moose with a spear after Moose was distracted by Covington. It was a numbers game as there were four ATT guys who interfered and were in the cage so it was 6-on-2 at the end. Moose and Lashley carried it and would break it up whenever Mo squared off with Bonnar. When Mo and Bonnar finally went at it after several teases, they did basic MMA stuff and it was okay. It was more a story match. I wouldn’t call it good or bad but it wasn’t as if the angle was super hot here.
Moose and Mo ended up going out the door. Lambert then threw Mo in and all the ATT guys (including Lambert) got in the cage and Lambert locked the cage door with Moose out of the cage. Bonnar had a quick spot of cleaning house until he was beaten down. The big spot saw Moose climb the cage and do a crossbody off the top of the cage onto everyone. Moose also did a tree slam off the top rope on John Harnett, a smaller guy who is a manager at ATT who took a good bump.
GLOBAL CHAMPION ELI DRAKE VS. JOHNNY IMPACT
Chris Adonis is in Drake’s corner.
They were having a good match, but it was nowhere near world title heat. The finish was overbooked and turned out to be all about Alberto. They did a ton of near falls. Impact had it won but Adonis interfered. Impact laid out Adonis with a belt shot that Adonis had brought in. Impact later hit Starship Pain and Alberto el Patron showed up and pulled the ref out of the ring. Impact went for a dive on Alberto, who moved, and Impact wiped out the ref. Alberto then nailed Drake with a belt shot, acting like he didn’t care who won. Then, he nailed Impact with a hard unprotected chair shot to the head. Alberto then put Drake on top of Impact and the ref counted the pin with Drake retaining the title.
This was a good match but the interference in so many matches earlier made this more annoying than heated by the time they got here.
